Hello and welcome to another edition of the Kale Ortho podcast. Today is June 20th 2023. And it's a very special edition of the Kale Ortho podcast. We're so fortunate to have Justin Awad with us today. Justin is a very dear friend of the Kale family. Justin grew up with my oldest son, robbie Kale, robert Kale, and they have been tremendous friends for all these years. Justin and his family are also very close to the Kale family as well. We grew up together and still, to this day, remain very, very close. We're so fortunate to have Justin with us today. Welcome to the Kale Ortho podcast, justin, thank you so much.
Justin Awad:The honor is mine And this is a beautiful studio, by the way.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:I appreciate that, Coming from you, that means a lot. Thank you, Justin. Justin is loved by everyone that he comes across. Our family loves him dearly, but the public love him as well. He has an incredible personality. He's charming. He's got everything going for him. He's just such a magnificent young man And I'm so happy to have Justin with us today. There is a reason that Justin is on this podcast, and we'll get to that shortly. Justin is also loved by the world.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Now, As you may or may not know, Justin is an incredibly popular social media influencer. Now. Justin has almost 500,000 followers on Instagram. He has almost 1.5 million followers on TikTok. It's just unbelievable. I'm just so proud of you, Justin Now to see you grow up as a kid and to reach this level of success and influence in this world. It's just so magnificent And in all this time, you've remained so, so humble and it's just so, so nice to see. It just makes us, as a parent myself, it just makes us so happy to see that You're still the same Justin Awad that we knew growing up years ago, And it is for that reason that we've invited Justin to participate in this Kale Ortho podcast today, and we'll get to the reasons very shortly, Justin, regarding your social media campaigns, your whole brand has been built primarily on bringing to our attention and highlighting a national pandemic in this country, And what I'm referring to primarily is what appears to be at least more and more uneducated youth. Your TikTok and Instagram posts are hilarious.
Justin Awad:Can you name a country that starts with the letter U?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:What's this?
Justin Awad:Any country You got this. I watched so many videos on this.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Yeah, there are a lot of videos up there.
Justin Awad:A country that starts with the letter U? Give me a guess?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:A Europe, a Europe, yes. What's the?
Justin Awad:shape with four sides called I don't know. I haven't had, i haven't done something with shape since like fifth grade. Yeah, if you had a guess, i don't know, like I don't, i don't, i don't, i know what, like what shape it is, but I know what shapes have four sides, but I don't know the name for it. Yes, can you name three countries besides the USA Alabama, that's one, new Mexico Two, connecticut Three. It's too easy for you. What is one quarter plus two dimes?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:One quarter plus two, how much money is?
Justin Awad:that That's 65 cents. Is it 65 cents? Yes, what's three times three times three? Nine? Yes, how many continents are there? I don't know. Yes, yes, do I know? Yes, can you name three countries besides the USA?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Oh my.
Justin Awad:God, now I got this, i got this. Countries right Texas. Yeah, that's one.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:North Carolina. Two. What else? One more baby, you got this California.
Justin Awad:You really can't watch them without cracking up.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:I think about them and we crack up, but in reality, they're also very, very sad. It's sort of a bittersweet type of engagement in that they reveal and highlight a national pandemic of failure of the education system in the United States. It seems that some of the interviewees of your podcast seem to be less educated or informed about common things that the average person should know about, About presidents and countries and capitals and geography and different things that you constantly interview these interviewees about. And I just want to say that I think about, interviewees about, and I just think about them, and you just yes them to death And I don't know if that's good or bad. It's not educating them. It seems to be enabling the problem even further. You're not correcting these individuals, you're not educating them further, you're just further enabling them. But that's okay. That's what makes it so funny, i guess. You highlight this problem, you bring it to our attention, you laugh about it.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Unfortunately, it leads us to believe that this generation of individuals are entitled and uneducated. It seems like their work ethic is not going to be what we need it to be. It's not what built this country, for sure, and it's concerning, and so I felt that this is a fantastic opportunity to invite you on this podcast so we can maybe talk about you and see if you truly practice what you preach Or you want to those individuals because you come from that generation. And if you are, well so be it. But if you're not, you know, perhaps we have an incredible opportunity here to be used on our platform and your platform to maybe encourage other individuals in your generation about maybe a different path that they can take to succeed in life. So, on that note, justin, why don't you just take a couple of minutes and just tell us about yourself? tell us about yourself, your family.
Justin Awad:Well, first of all, i want to say thank you for what the kind of words that you said at the beginning. It means a lot coming from you as somebody that I look up to and aspire to be like one day, especially as a surgeon, as a doctor. That means a lot coming from you. So thank you for that. But, yeah, i'm so excited to be here. About myself my name is Justin. If you don't know that by now, you should come DM me so I can interview you. But yeah, i'm 21 years old.
Justin Awad:I grew up here in New Jersey and I started making videos almost three years ago, exactly almost during the summer, three years ago, during the pandemic. I started because I, ever since growing up in high school, i'm sure, if you ask Ravi I love entertaining and I love making my friends laugh and having a good time, because I feel like that's what life's about. What if you can't? So what if you accomplish so much if you're not enjoying it and having a good time? So I started making videos, especially during the pandemic. everyone was locked at home, malls were closed, everything was closed, and I saw how much of an effect and a toll it really had on everybody that I loved, including my friends, family, cousins, even my little sister in the house with me. It really was taking a toll on her and she's like a ray of sunshine too. So I was like, what can I do to, one, be safe from the virus and everything, because it was very uncertain times. And two, how can I bring just a little ray of sunshine, just a little joy to all these people?
Justin Awad:And then this thing called TikTok blew up out of nowhere and oh, it's part of the coronavirus scam and it's part of this, and they're spying on us and whatever. I was just like I don't know what. it seems pretty cool. So I started making videos. The first couple of videos I made don't scroll down. I was dancing. I'm so embarrassed of it nowadays Looking back. I was just, i was a good dancer, but I'm not bringing it back, i don't say that much, but yeah.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Are they still?
Justin Awad:online. I think they are.
Justin Awad:You're not to school a little bit. I don't advise. Yeah, so the idea of the interviews came up when I was playing a video game with one of my friends and I forgot what it was because it was also the time of the Trump's re-election and stuff 2020. And so I said, oh, who is? do you even know who Obama's vice president was? And the kid didn't know. And I was like what do you mean? you don't know. And then he was like nobody knows that. No one knows who that is. I was like what do you mean? So we were going, we had like a little back and forth, this is common knowledge. And then he was like, no, this is not common knowledge. And then that's when I was like, oh yeah, so let's go find out.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Something clicked, yeah, and my personality type.
Justin Awad:I'm not very afraid to go up to people and talk to them. I think that it's it brings something so unique, hearing all these different people's backgrounds and their whole lives. And that's what I get to do every person I interview, Like it's not just I ask questions and leave. We talk a little bit like oh, where are you from, How old are you? Stuff like that. We have been a little interaction and I love that so much. But yeah, that's how it all started And here we are.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Awesome. So what are you doing with yourself these days besides doing this? Obviously are you in school.
Justin Awad:I am in school. Yeah, I'm in junior year at Seton Hall University. I'm a biology major. In my data chemistry minor. I just need to take like three more classes to do that. But there are three hefty classes, but we'll see.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Yeah, So Seton Hall biology major. So that means you probably have an interest in going into some field of in the sciences, right?
Justin Awad:100%. That's the dream and goal ever since I can remember So what is that goal and aspiration of yours?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:I want to be a doctor.
Justin Awad:Fantastic. I want to help people and save lives and make them smile.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Awesome, awesome. Do you know what kind of?
Justin Awad:doctor you want to be? No, but I can tell you what I don't want to be. What's that? People ask that a lot. I don't do eyes Can't be an ophthalmologist No, i cry looking at my own eyes in the mirror. I can't look at that. I don't mess with feet either.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Okay, neither do I. People need to clean their toenails And number three.
Justin Awad:I don't do pediatrics because I feel so bad for the kids. But other than that, yeah, i'm open.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Yeah, i actually knew that you wanted to be a doctor and that's sort of why you're on this podcast. I'll never forget when Robbie told me that you wanted to be a doctor and you got accepted to Seton Hall and Biology and you're going to be a doctor and made me so happy for you because I'm so passionate about this field of medicine, although I would have loved to see one of my first three children go into medicine and possibly get into orthopedics. That didn't happen. I still have three to go, but to each his or her own Now. As you know, our oldest became a mental health counselor, so she's in medicine. My wife's a nurse. My second daughter, makayla, is a nurse and she's actually going to become a nurse practitioner very soon. She's in the doctoral program for nurse practitioners. So they are all in medicine, but no one actually opted to become a doctor yet. So when I heard you did, knowing how close you are with Robbie, i was so proud of you and so excited that you stuck with it and you're still persevering. So that makes me very excited too, because I'm a local doctor. Right, i have a practice. You look like an orthopedic surgeon and I'd love to see you one day, maybe come into the practice, but we'll see. We'll play it by ear, but that is fantastic.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So, yes, that's why Justin's on this podcast. Justin leads by example. He does get out there, he does entertain, he does bring attention to this real issue, and he's actually leading by example in that he's doing it the old fashioned way. He will succeed. There's no question in our mind that he will succeed as a physician and become a great physician one day, and I just felt it might be a great opportunity to have Justin on the KL Ortho podcast and sort of lay it all out there about what that path is like and what you really would need to do if you had any interest in pursuing a career in the field of medicine. And that could be physician, it could be chiropractor, it could be a physical therapist, it could be a physician assistant, it could be any of that, it could be a nurse, and so if any of that is enticing to you, i encourage you to just continue listening to the podcast, watching the podcast, as we're going to go through it step by step to help your goals become reality.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So, justin, that being said, you want to be a doctor. So you're in your third year of college right now studying biology. How do you become a doctor? What happens after next year? is your senior year in college right? You will hopefully graduate next year. I'm sure you will. How important are your grades to becoming a physician?
Justin Awad:Yeah. So of course they're very important, but the medical schools know that there's extreme variability from school to school, professor to professor. In my school there's only like two professors for, say, a certain chemistry class, and one professor's average is like an 80 for their exams and the others is like a 50. So where's the discrepancy? How much does this kid actually really know? So, and the medical schools, they know that stuff.
Justin Awad:So your grades are very, very important, but they're not everything. Your GPA is not everything. The big three I'm sure you know, is your GPA, your MCAT score and your personal statement. Slash your interviews. They want to know that you're a real person, that you can talk to other people, you can relay information to your patients, you're sociable, you're not a robot, because doctors they can't be robots To. They need to make sure that you do well in your MCAT, which is a standardized test. So these basic science principles and these basic science ideas that you need to know to do, which are the foundation for everything medicine you need to know those things. So you get tested on that. And then your GPA. So I would say it's one of the big three that you need your GPA.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:How important are other activities, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, community service, things like that.
Justin Awad:Yeah, those are also extremely important to show your interest, that you're also like a human. Like I said, you're not a robot. You're not a robot. I have to learn teamwork, playing on an intramural team. Or you want to show that you genuinely care about other people by volunteering at like your, your church or your local, like a food, food pantry or anything like that. That's definitely a very important aspect and medical schools love to do that. But I would recommend don't be like artificial with it. Do what you genuinely love. Like for me personally, like I love playing basketball, so I volunteer at like a basketball camp. That's what I like to do, so I'm going to go do that.
Justin Awad:And who says a basketball camp is better than a soccer camp or is better than whatever other thing? somebody wants to volunteer. I think today didn't today's day and age, at least like in my circle, i'm seeing a lot of like repetitive things where people think it's a checklist You have to check off to. Oh, i need to be an EMT, i need to do my research 500 hours, i need to do this, i need to do that, and I don't believe that that's what medical schools are looking for. I think they want to see, do you have the ability and are you a real person who would make a good doctor?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So yeah, how about shadowing? Is it important to shadow anyone in the field of medicine?
Justin Awad:Yeah, i would say shadowing is a big 50, 50, not in the sense that it's important, but it's in the sense of you need to show the medical schools that you put in the time and that you know what you're signing up for, so you don't like drop out and you don't waste half a million dollars and like years and years of your life And also for yourself to see do I genuinely like this? Is this actually what I want to spend the rest of my life doing? And, like I said, spend that money and spend those years actually doing that. So I think it's just as important for you as an individual deciding to go down this path as it is for the medical schools looking at you as an applicant What actually inspired you to go into medicine?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:I?
Justin Awad:remember I think it might have been when my family lived back in Florida or when we just came here my mom, we were in Target like walking around or whatever, and I bought. She bought me like a stethoscope or like a little stethoscope, a plastic one. I don't think it worked, but I was in love with that thing I always try to feel my little sister's heartbeat, and I never found it because it was plastic.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:I always tried, though I'm getting close.
Justin Awad:I remember that it sparked my interest. But then when I really just like decided that this is what I wanted to do, was in between my sophomore year of high school and my junior year of high school, because that's when my mom was like all right, like like get off your butt, it's time to start doing something with your life. She made me do like a stock market camp, like on Wall Street in the city. My dad owns a jewelry business in also in the city, so I spent like a couple of weeks doing the stock market camp and Wall Street computers.
Justin Awad:I had to go into work every day with my dad sitting in the traffic on the bridge on the way back. And then third thing I did was I did a medical camp at Holy Name Hospital in Tina. Originally I was enticed that I don't have to wake up two hours earlier to drive into the city and do all that, so that originally like right off the bat it already had an advantage on the other two.
Justin Awad:But that's when I truly fell in love. I remember, like my first day I was a little like nervous because I was like all right, like do I like blood, like am I going to pass out here All these stories or whatever. But I remember saturing an ER doctor and I was like this is like I need to do this, like I love this.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Awesome, awesome. Yeah, the ER is so exciting. People like to see what's going on in our world in the operating room. It's exciting stuff. Okay, justin. So now that we understand what inspired you to go into medicine, do you know exactly what field of medicine you want to go into?
Justin Awad:I don't know exactly what field of medicine, but I can tell you what I do not want to do. What's that? Three things. One I do not mess with eyes. I cannot be an ophthalmologist. I look in the mirror and I start crying looking at myself, not because I'm hideous, but just because I don't like eyes. Two podiatrists I don't mess with feet either. People do not clean their toenails. It's nasty. And then, number three pediatrics. I can't do kids either. They make me so sad when they're sick and stuff like that. So those are the three that I can do, but the three that I'm considering right now orthopedics, number one. number two plastic surgery. I think that's very interesting field. I know it's very lucrative as well. I'm very interesting, very lucrative. And then I'm also considering sort of a family medicine, pain management also kind of area. So I know they're a little diverse, but those are my top three.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So that's great to hear. Listen, as you know, I'm a little biased, but I'm passionate about the field of orthopedic surgery. I think it's the best of both worlds. Number one you mentioned you want to do family practice. It's sort of like internal medicine.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:I've always considered an orthopedic surgeon to be sort of the primary care physician for the musculoskeletal system. Patients see us for everything musculoskeletal Neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, knee pain, whatever. They just see us first, which is great. So we get to do primary care orthopedic medicine, but we also get to be a surgeon too. So if those patients ultimately need surgery, we also perform the surgery on those body parts as well. So it's sort of the best of both worlds. We get to practice a lot of nonoperative care, but then when they do need surgery, we get to take care of that as well. And I've always considered orthopedics one of the most rewarding specialties because we get that instant gratification. We fix patients, they get better immediately. It's very, very rewarding because of that instant gratification. So I'd encourage you to at least consider it, Isn't it?
Justin Awad:a very challenging field or a very competitive field.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Certainly as far as surgeries are concerned. Orthopedics is way up there as far as level of competitiveness. So, with respect to preparing yourself for medical school, what types of preparation have you considered so far?
Justin Awad:Of course, number one my priority these past couple years was just keeping my grades up. That's the number one thing. You're not really going to get considered if your grades are through the like, not competitive whatsoever, through the ground, like terrible. So that was my number one priority. Another very important aspect of my application going forward is going to be my extracurriculars. Like, what have I been doing when I'm not sitting in my room studying? Am I playing video games or am I volunteering? Am I shadowing? Am I starting my own business or am I making social media videos, for example, if someone wants to do that? So that's also something that I've been trying to focus on to make sure that I'm a well-rounded applicant.
Justin Awad:The med schools look at people. They look at applicants not only as numbers but as people as well, which I think is amazing because I know back then it was a little bit different just numbers-wise. But number one was grades. Number two is just making sure that I'm doing what I love and I'm being true to myself and I'm not doing something because I think that that's what the med schools would want. I'm doing that because I love them.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Right. And what about the MCAT, the standardized test? Are you preparing for that?
Justin Awad:That's what I'm doing right now. Yeah, it's hefty and it's a long, eight-hour brutal exam. But I've taken a whole bunch of practice ones and I'm studying now and hopefully I'll be taking that very soon and scoring well hopefully.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Best of luck with that, thank you. So the protocol essentially is to graduate from college. Medical schools require at least a bachelor's degree and then it doesn't have to be in any specific field. A lot of people like you chose pre-medicine or biology, but it can really be in any field. You have to do exceptionally well during those college years, typically have a high grade point average. In addition to that, you've referenced the fact that you have to participate in extracurricular activities shadowing, volunteer work, community service etc. Show a devout interest in the field of medicine to the medical school committee. In addition to that, very often have to have a very high MCAT score. It's sort of like the SAT or the ACT getting into college. So you're working on that and I'm proud of you and I wish you all the best in that regard.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Once you get into medical school, medical school's a four-year program. There are different types of medical schools, right. There's those allopathic schools like, where you graduate and get an MD, and then there are the osteopathic schools, which also allow you to become a doctor, but you end up getting a DO, a doctor of osteopathy, as opposed to an MD, which is a medical degree. In any event, both of those graduates become doctors. After those four years of medical school you have to decide what you want to go into. So the first two years of those medical schools are typically non-clinical years, where you're just doing didactics, learning about biology, pathology, physiology, anatomy, etc. The last two years of medical school is when you decide what type of doctor you want to become. You start doing your rotations. Some of those rotations are mandatory and others are elective. You slowly decide, as you interact with attending physicians, what field of medicine you want to go into. As you're rotating through hospitals and different operating rooms, you're developing an interest in a certain specialty. So it's at that time when you decide to choose electives that are more tailored to your desires and what type of physician you want to be. That being said, when you finally decide what type of doctor you want to be, you have to then apply to a residency program. So residency programs are very competitive depending on the specialty.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So it is equally important to do exceptionally well in medical school, as it is in college, to get into medical school. So now you're in medical school and if you want to be a surgeon, for instance, there are some surgical specialties that are way more competitive than others, like orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, and then there's non-surgical specialties that are also very competitive, like dermatology, because some of those doctors really choose to go into those fields for lifestyle reasons. So I just want to express these are the steps that you have to consider, and there are steps that you have to take in order to achieve your goals and become the type of physician you want to become. It's not like you just go to medical school and graduate and decide to be the type of doctor you want to be. It's very important, while you're in medical school, to always do your best, and this way, you have all the options open before you and you're not forced to choose a specialty that is less competitive when your interests might be elsewhere. So at this point, i think we'll just shift gears and focus on what most of you are probably most interested in, and that is Justin Awad's incredible success as a social media influencer.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So, as I said before, justin has approximately 500,000 followers on Instagram and approximately 1.5 million followers on TikTok. I mean, those numbers are staggering. I just applaud you for that, justin. You haven't really been doing this that long, but clearly you're doing something right. What was it that really influenced you to go into this field.
Justin Awad:Yeah, that's a great question. I get that question a lot and it's hard to trace back to the exact point. But ever since I can remember, i love making my friends laugh and I love bringing joy wherever I go. Even though some people wouldn't really agree, that's what I do, but that's what I always love to do. And if we go back a couple of years, it was COVID and everything was locked down And I really saw the toll, just mentally and emotionally, that it took on the people that I genuinely love, like my friends and my family and even my little sister.
Justin Awad:That's like in my own house and she's like amazing and just a ray of sunshine. But it was hard just sitting in your room or sitting in your house for hours and hours and hours and days and days and weeks and weeks. So the thing that came to my head was okay, what is something in my power that I can do today to change that, or to at least take a step in the right direction to change that? And so this awesome thing came to my attention called TikTok, and I was addicted for the first week to scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. So I was like, oh, these videos are funny and they're entertaining. Like I'm going to try to make a video and I don't encourage anyone to scroll, but if you scroll down fast enough, my early days, i was a dancer back in the beginning, but not great. So I started doing that, just making my friends laugh, making my little sister smile a little bit. And then one day I was playing a video game with my friend like a late at night and he didn't know, like the simplest thing, like it was Barack Obama's vice president or something, and at the time that was the previous president, right before Trump at the time. So he was like, oh, like I don't know. And I was like what do you mean? you don't know. And I was the vice president of the United States And he was like nobody knows that.
Justin Awad:And I was like, yes, people do know that. So we had a little back and forth And then we were like, all right, like you know what, like we'll test it. So then I started asking people, like in our circle, and then I started asking other people. Like I said, it was like malls are opening and people didn't know, they didn't know that. And then it was like all right, what about? like this question? Like like what's heavier a thousand pounds of bricks or a thousand pounds of feathers? Oh, it's like common sense. No, no, it's not common sense. So a lot of people It kind of just progressed like out of that, just laughing at each other, not knowing things, and like debating what's common knowledge and what's not common knowledge and stuff like that. And I was making the videos, like I said, for the people closest to me and posting them online so they can see it, and other people started clearly enjoying it And it was just a snowball from there.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:It must take a lot of your time. First of all, you have to develop these questions in your own mind. You have to take the time to get into the city and put a team together of videographer, I guess and then record the video, select the people you're going to be interviewing, edit the videos. I mean, it's just an overwhelming formidable task. Do you ever feel stressed with your ability to keep up with that volume?
Justin Awad:Because obviously, as a social media influencer, people are waiting for your next video, each and every day, probably, to come out right, yeah, yeah, it's way easier during like breaks, like summer and winter break, because I don't have school, like as a pre-med biology major. you just slam with work and there's always something you could be studying or could be doing. So it's hard to really balance it then. That's when, like, the discipline and the time management really come in. But during summer it's a lot more relaxed because it's something I enjoy. It's not like a task that I have to do.
Justin Awad:but it is a little bit stressful sometimes when I know that there's videos I need to finish, i know that I need to get them out and I have to do them, and there are people waiting, like you said, they're waiting for the videos. And I do get messages and those little messages are encouraging like oh, like when, like where have you been for the past couple of days, or where have you been here or there, and it's like it's a little bit cool to be like all right, this random person I've never met is like thinking about me and like kind of like checking up, like oh, like what's up, like when can we expect the next one, or whatever. So that's a little motivation to get them done. But it's definitely stressful, but it's a good stress. It's a stress that I'm very grateful to have. Yeah.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:What's the average length of your video, would you say?
Justin Awad:I like to keep the videos just because of times like our attention time. So nowadays it's so short, so I don't like to pose a video over like 45 seconds. I like to keep them under 45 seconds, probably between 35 and 45.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:And what is an average? 35 to 45.
Justin Awad:The second video take you to produce A while, yeah, it's hard to put a specific number on one video, but the way I film is I'll go and like go ask somebody to interview them and I'll have like one of my friends phones in my hand with all the questions and they'll record on my phone and I'll just go through and just ask them the questions. And then the questions that I think are they have funny answers and I cut them up. But sometimes, like it's very, very variable, because none of the videos are staged and none of them are besides the sponsored ones. None of them are staged. They're all real. So sometimes people answer a question in two minutes.
Justin Awad:Oh, i'm thinking. I'm thinking, i don't know, i don't want to guess. So it's like it's very, you cut out a lot of the videos, every person. You don't get to use every single question. So I need to go through all of those which take time, cut them all up and then decide what videos to put together what's going to be the first video, what's going to be the second, what's going to be the third, and put it all together. So if I had to guess, i would probably say between, like maybe one to three hours per video, maybe even more, but I don't. I'm not sure. It's a rough estimate.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Are you doing all that editing on your phone or are you using a?
Justin Awad:computer for that. In the beginning I did 100% everything on my phone in the TikTok app, in the app itself, and then did a little research, did a little setting, i moved to iMovie. Yeah, yeah, it was a big jump for me. It was bold. But yeah, now I it's hard to delegate work and delegate power, especially something that like means a lot to you and you worked hard for it. I kind of want like my own flavor to it. But my editor, he actually lives in Romania, which is crazy.
Justin Awad:Yeah, he reached out to me via email and he was like Oh, send me some work. And he sent me his work, and he does a great job in my opinion.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:I love what he does. Oh nice Yeah.
Justin Awad:So he's been gradually getting the grasp more and more of like what I'm looking for and like what I like in my video.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So he's been taking off a lot of pressure, a lot of stress for me, which is huge. Nice, So you're uploading the clips to him.
Justin Awad:He's doing most of the yeah As of right, actually, literally up until this week, I was the one putting all the clips together, like syncing the audio, cutting them all up and putting them together, And he would just edit the words and like music and whatever. But up until this week I just sent him raw clips and he chose the ones to put together and did all that.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So thank you, dan, if you're listening you might have to send his information my way. So when you interview these people, do you have to get their permission to post anything about them afterwards?
Justin Awad:Yeah, that's a. It's a little touchy subject So there are specific rules that I did not research beforehand. I sadly learned from experience. But, for instance, if I'm filming in a mall, it's technically private property. So everything I film in that mall kind of belongs to the mall and is under their jurisdiction. So if they're like, okay, we don't want you making our customers look bad or we don't want this video up because it whatever in the background there's construction, whatever, I have to take the video down right away because it's their private property. And I filmed on their private property. And sometimes even like security is like, oh, you can't film here. You can do this here or that here And of course I am respectful and leave.
Justin Awad:But yeah, that's that's for malls. It's a little challenging there. But the bigger thing is under 18 years old, because they require parental permission, a signature sign page that allows me to post their minor online. So it's a little difficult interviewing minors like people under 18. But other than that, in like Times Square or Central Park or even any other park, that's technically public property, it's fair game. So, same thing as a futurist is taking a video of, like the Empire State Building and someone's faces in it.
Justin Awad:They can, why can't they post it online? And there's also, like the implied consent aspect of it, which if I ask somebody, do you want to be in a video? they verbally say yes And on video you see them looking at the camera and you see them. They see me holding a mic and they move back for your implying consent. So even if they asked me to take it down, i technically have the right to keep it up, but obviously I don't want to make anyone feel upset or whatever. So if they ask me to take it down, i take it up?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:How do you handle the negative backlash that you may receive sometimes?
Justin Awad:Yeah, in the beginning it was challenging. to be honest, it really like took a toll. I was taking everything very personally, which, as time goes on, i kind of realized that I can't do that because they don't know me as a whole person. So there's no reason for them to judge me as a person and call me certain names and certain whatever. So, like, as time progressed I definitely got better with that. It doesn't nearly affect me as much nowadays as it did in the beginning.
Justin Awad:In the beginning it was really bad. I took almost an entire week off. I think it was 10 days off, or I just didn't post because of like two or three bad comments. And that's on top of the hundreds of good comments. Only like the two or three bad ones stick with you, which is weird but it's true. But I remember, like my dad told me, name me one person who is famous and is successful in life, and people aren't hating on them and people aren't saying negative things about them, whether it's a politician or if it's an athlete or if it's even a historical figure. like, everybody has different perspectives and you can't please everybody. If you're pleasing everybody, then you're not true to yourself. So there's a certain aspect of it. and now I'm just at the place where I want to do what I love to do, and if you don't like my videos and you don't have to watch them or you don't have to like them, you can just keep scrolling. you don't have to follow me.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Yeah, sounds very true to character like your mom and dad, such encouraging people. It doesn't surprise me that they were there for you in those times. But look, it bothers you because you care. You know you care what people think about you, and obviously I do too. It's important to us because we care, justin. By the way, how do you end up selecting the people that you're going to interview?
Justin Awad:Yeah, i say it's like an instilled instinct in me. I'm just gifted like that. No, but in the beginning it took much longer to get the videos done because there's a whole learning curve. Where it's like anybody I would see, i'd just ask them, whether it's like grandparents or parents or kids or Like literally anybody I saw, i would ask them.
Justin Awad:But as time goes on you realize that if somebody's holding their shopping bags at a mall and on the phone, you don't really want to ask them. They're clearly like in the middle of something, don't want to do something. They're either going to say no or like it won't be entertaining. So as time goes on, i feel like I'm getting a feel for things more as time goes on. Where it's like number one, they look like they would say yes and be open to talking to me and be comfortable in front of a camera. And two, they look like they would get funny answers. But obviously I have no idea. You can't really judge a book by its cover at all, no matter how experienced you are. I've definitely gotten better, but there was a learning curve in the beginning.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So, justin, i have to ask you the question that's on everybody's mind What percent of the people that you interview get the questions right the first time?
Justin Awad:Oh man, this is the number one question I'm asked for sure, but it definitely varies. It's hard to give a certain number, but as time goes on I feel like I'm getting better and better at asking people. But I don't think people will be too happy with the answer, but almost everybody that I interview I use in the videos. It's very rare when somebody gets all the questions right. Some people get more questions wrong than others. So each person is between a range, but I would say it's like eight out of 10 basically every time. So I'd say around 80%.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:You know, Justin, one important thing that I wanted to just get out. There was a conversation you and I had where we were talking about this podcast and how it's easy for people in my generation to judge people in your generation and say, wow, we're doomed, The future of this country is doomed. But you responded in a manner that was very enlightening to me. It really made me consider that concept in a much different perspective And I really respected you for it. I respected your answer And I think it's important to communicate that to our viewing audience because it may actually change the way our generation views your generation. You know the baby boomer generation compared to the generation Z and the millennials. So what is your perspective on that concept?
Justin Awad:Yeah, so it's usually what you said. It's usually like always oh, this generation, they don't know anything and they're dumb and they don't want to read books and they don't want to work hard and all this stuff. And yeah, those aspects may be true for a lot of people, but I think the focus and the question that they're not asking is where is the value of knowledge now? Where is the value of actual skills that people use? when you're looking for someone to hire, are you asking them who fought against who in the Civil War? Are you seeing how fast they can type and how quickly they can set up a website, or how quickly they can send an email or make a new Instagram account?
Justin Awad:I think my generation, generation Z, is. We grew up with these computers in our hands, where we have access to the unlimited information and we know how to use that in a way where not a lot of people in other generations know how to use. So it's kind of okay. Yeah, your grandma can know every single one of my questions, but if she can't send the facts, then like, where's the value of knowledge? So I think that there's the extreme poles where you know nothing about each and you're in trouble in both, but there's a very happy medium where you can continue to learn both things. You can always learn more facts, more knowledge, more common sense, and you can also learn how to set up this mic and set up the camera and set up everything in the technological field.
Justin Awad:So I wouldn't be too hard on the generation. I think that there's a little discrepancy, because the older generations know all the answers to these specific questions, whereas if I were to ask older people in those generations questions that these kids would have gone right, like oh, like, what's an algorithm or what's something like along those lines, technologically, they wouldn't know how to do it. So it's, i think there's, there's a happy medium You gotta, you gotta know both. So I wouldn't be too hard on the generation.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Yeah, that really was very enlightening to me, and that's. That was a beautiful perspective, one that I had not heard before or appreciated, and that's really where we want to be. We want to be in that happy medium, you know. You know, for us it's a little frustrating when we talk to our kids and ask them the capital of this state or who is the first president of the United States, the third president of the United States, the 16th president of the United States, all of whom they should know. But it's equally as frustrating for you guys when we're playing around with our iPhones or our computers and we can't do things. That, for you, is like a knee-jerk reaction.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:I can't tell you how many times I rely on my children to allow me to use some advanced technologies these days, and I learned from them. So that was a beautiful perspective and thank you for sharing that with us, and I hope that that resonates with you as well, because it did with me, and I will look at these kids in a different light now, that's for sure. So thank you for that, justin. You know, justin, with all these interviews that you've done, there must be some that make you just still crack up uncontrollably. What are some of those favorite funny interviews that you've had.
Justin Awad:No, there are definitely a couple that I can watch over and over and over again. I still just die laughing because I remember the whole situation once. I didn't play in this in advance, but me and my videographer, we went to the city and it happened to be the day of NYU's graduation. What's three times three times three, nine? Yes. So all of these kids are walking around in their purple cap and gowns at NYU and whatever these things are called, like their special things, and so I was like, oh, like, i'll go and interview these college kids. They just graduated there in happy moods or whatever. It was so fun. They knew nothing. None of them knew anything. I asked the most basic questions and they were struggling, and the comments that I was reading was hilarious, though, like NYU was so dull, nyu doesn't know anything. It was so funny.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So that's a lot of backlash from NYU after this one.
Justin Awad:I don't know what departments they were, what majors, but it was just a funny day.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Two that come to mind with me is I just remember the one interview where you asked somebody can you name a country that starts with you?
Justin Awad:Can you name a country that starts with the letter U? Any country you got this. I watched so many videos on this one, yeah there are a lot of videos out there. Country that starts with the letter U. Give me a guess, bureau.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Bureau. Yes, meanwhile we're in the United States, and then another one was just named, three countries in North America, and I heard Canada, which was good, but then I heard China and then I heard Europe. There you go.
Justin Awad:Yes, very good, three countries. And you probably said yes, yes, i probably did. Yeah, and they're going to be watching this and be like wait, am I wrong?
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Yeah, I don't know if that's good or bad, that you just sort of enable them and feed into them by just yesing them to death. They probably are high-fiving their friends after that, saying that how smart they are and they've got everything right. But it's just. I don't know. It's part of the humor, I guess.
Justin Awad:There's a funny story, really quick. Once I interviewed a guy and usually I never like re-see the person that I interviewed because it's either at the mall or in Times Square and the chances of being the same person at the same time in the same place again like twice is crazy. But there was this one person. I've interviewed them like months before I saw them again in Times Square. He's like six, five, whatever, and he's like coming at me. So I was like, oh well, here we go. But he was like, oh, like you interviewed me and like I thought I got the questions right or whatever. And he was like my teacher showed us in class, like they showed the videos and all my friends were like bullying me Not bullying, but like all my friends were laughing at me or whatever And he kind of threw me under the bus. He was like, oh, he told me to say the wrong answers.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:He told me And I was like you told them that I told you to say it.
Justin Awad:It was just so funny, But maybe he like gave me a handshake and then he was like all right, I want to go again. So I gave him like new set of questions and got them all wrong again. So hopefully he told them this time.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:You must be recognized now everywhere you go without many followers, right?
Justin Awad:Yeah, yeah. You're starting to feel like a celebrity. I don't feel like it, but it's definitely weird. Sometimes you have Yeah, i feel like. The most time I feel it is like when I'm at school and I'm just sitting and like I see kids looking at me. I'm just like like I'm not cool, i'm normal.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Like you, can come say hi to me. You don't have to look at me. Has anyone ever asked you for a signature or anything?
Justin Awad:Yeah, Well, there was one kid that asked me for a signature and I said no. I said I'm not going to ruin your hat.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:It's not worth it But.
Justin Awad:I said like let's take a picture or whatever. That's so cute. Yeah, That's so cute.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Well, enjoy it while it lasts, and hopefully it lasts for a long time, justin. But look, regardless of how successful you become in the future, from this or even medicine, you know we, really we all know at the Kale family and so many in this community, the real Justin Awad. We know that it'll never go to your head. We know that you have such a humble spirit and we know the family that you come from. And it really leads to my last question. Okay, that's probably the most important question, because I know the real Justin Awad. I see that big, beautiful cross around your chest. I know you're a Christian and I know that you feel that you live and have purpose. You want to be a purpose in your life. You want to be a vessel, you want to be an instrument. So let's assume that this platform that you're on and your success just continues to escalate in a vertical trajectory. How do you feel that, ultimately, you want to use this platform in your life?
Justin Awad:Yeah, that's a great question. I don't think anyone's asked me before, but I think where I am right now, it's kind of like I found a little niche that I'm good at and I'm growing my platform off of that And I feel like over time and I've seen over time people are becoming more and more interested in me as a person instead of me as an interviewer or me as an entertainment. And so as I grow like as a human being, as I grow in my faith, as I grow followers and social media, i hope that people become more and more interested in me and my life And I'm going to do everything in my power to reflect and to live just like Jesus did and hopefully one day, when I get really big, i'll be different from everyone else who is really big and going out and partying and drinking and doing all that stuff that I don't believe and I don't think is right. Yeah, and all these other social media influences who are so big and they think that they're like I don't know cool by showing, like all these girls and drugs and drinking on social media And I feel like they're being terrible examples, because I know I have like little cousins who are watching these people and like I don't like that at all.
Justin Awad:So I want to live a life just like Jesus did and do my best to reflect who he is and his character and his love for everybody. So as I grow my platform, i hope that people can really see like who I am as a person and my life will reflect what I preach and I want other people to do as I do, not as I say, and so that's a big goal And hopefully, like as a doctor, i can also offer like extremely valuable information to help people's everyday life, whether it's their physical health at the gym or mental health or any medical condition they're suffering with, because health is at the forefront of everything. If you're not healthy, then it's very hard to enjoy certain aspects of life. So, yeah, that's the goal.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:Yeah, that's fantastic. Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is the real Justin Awad. So you heard it right from the horse's mouth. I'm very, very proud to have you on this Kaila Ortho podcast. I know your parents are extremely proud of you, not just because of your level of success right now, but because of the kind of man you are and you're just so mature for your age and I'm just so proud of you. You have a great head on your shoulders, justin, and look, i just hope one day that you continue in your career path in the field of medicine and hopefully that path will take you down the road, potentially, of orthopedic surgery. And you know, i'd be honored to have you as part of our organization one day and I'll certainly be there to help you every step of the way as a mentor, to help guide and direct you. So, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate the long day that you've had And of course thank you.
Robert A. Kayal, MD:So happy to have you, justin. It was an honor. All right, thank you, thank you.