Radio Front Desk

How to know if social media is actually helping your clinic grow (with The PreHab Guys)

• Jane.app • Season 2 • Episode 20

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Is social media really the key to building a thriving practice? Michael Lau and Adelle Smener of The Prehab Guys say not necessarily, even with 1.3 million followers of their own. 

In this episode of Radio Front Desk, Denzil sits down with Michael — co-founder of The Prehab Guys — and his wife and clinic director, Adelle, to explore how three PT students turned Instagram exercise clips into a global platform, a direct-to-consumer app, and a brick-and-mortar clinic. Along the way, they share why patient trust comes from authenticity, not algorithms, and why you don’t need a million followers to grow your practice.


What You’ll Learn

  • Why The Prehab Guys started online first — and how their mission shaped everything that followed
  • The difference between social media for global platforms vs. local clinics
  • Why patient autonomy is the foundation of lasting trust
  • How referrals, community, and great care still outweigh follower counts for brick-and-mortar success
  • Tips for showing up authentically online (and why you don’t have to “win” at social media)


Resources mentioned


Guest Bios

Michael Lau is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and one of the three co-founders of The Prehab Guys. While completing his doctorate at USC, Lau helped launch the platform to make evidence-based injury prevention and rehabilitation accessible to everyone. Today, he leads The Prehab Guys’ evolution into a global ecosystem spanning education, technology, and clinical care

Adelle Smener is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the Clinic Director at The Prehab Guys’ Los Angeles location. Also a USC PT graduate, Adelle was one of the early believers in The Prehab Guys’ vision, and helped shape its patient-centered, value-driven philosophy.


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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional medical, legal, or financial advice.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast host or its affiliates.


SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it was never to get clients, and we actually get very few patients for social media. People will be surprised to get you have a million followers, you guys don't get patients from them? No, most of our patients don't even know our social media exists.

SPEAKER_04:

Welcome back to Radio Front Desk by JNApp. I'm your host, Denzel Ford. If you've ever searched for a quick mobility or pain relief tip on Instagram or YouTube, chances are you've stumbled across the prehab guys. With over a million followers, they've built a digital presence that cuts through the noise. They don't chase trends. Instead, they stay true to their mission, which is redefining access to physical therapy. What started as three PT students filming exercise videos has grown into something much bigger: a global educational platform, a direct-to-consumer app, and a brick and mortar clinic in California. Along the way, they've had to rethink what it means to build trust with patients. Today I'm joined by Michael Lau, one of the original prehab guys, and his business partner, Adele Smenner. And here's the twist. Michael and Adele say that you don't actually need a massive social media presence to build your practice. In fact, what matters is something much simpler. Let's get into it. Adele Michael, welcome to Radio Front Desk. Thank you for having us. Yeah, we're excited to be here. You have a million Instagram followers. 1.3, right? 1.3. Pardon me. The last time we looked. That's incredible. Congratulations. 1.3. 1.3. Pardon me.

SPEAKER_03:

The last time we looked.

SPEAKER_04:

That's incredible. Congratulations. Wonder if we can start by going back to the very beginning. Every idea has a starting point. And for you, it sounds like it was such an organic process. So I'm wondering if you can tell me about the early days of the prehab guys and how did it all come together?

SPEAKER_00:

I can do that. Very early on, so we were in PT school as second year PT students. You learn all this really, really good orthopedic and sports information in first year, at least at USC, and then you go out on your first rotations. And we got on our first rotation, and I realized, oh my gosh, no one knows anything about PT. Or I would go home and visit my family on winter break or spring break, and my mom and dad just have no idea like what I'm studying, or even the things that I'm learning as a first-year student, how I can help them in their day-to-day life go up and down the stairs better. Okay, there's a problem here. So then in the second year, all the curriculum changes from orthopedic and sports to like inpatient acute care, cardiocome, neuro. And we wanted a way to continue to learn ourselves, the orthopedic and sports, which is what we were interested in, and have a way to advocate for the profession to educate people. Because there were so many people we saw on our rotation. If you had just learned one thing maybe three months ago, maybe I you wouldn't be seeing me in the clinic. And we just started organically putting out content both to help people and to advocate for the profession, but also selfishly so we can learn as students. We never had a master plan to grow to what it is today. And it just kind of happened organically.

SPEAKER_02:

We actually met in PT school during that time. Uh so I was there for like along the whole ride from from the beginning. And even when he told me about the idea, I was like, Oh, this is gonna I remember being like, this is going to be big, like you can't do this alone. And what was the idea?

SPEAKER_00:

What is the idea that like really just trying to educate people on how they can take care of themselves, but utilizing social media? I think this was at the time when Instagram is starting to get really big. And before this, I had started a blog. And I remember I was writing all the same things that we were putting on social media, but the blog just wasn't getting any traffic because it's not cool, it's not sexy, it's not top of mind. Instagram and social media, at least at the time, was top of mind. So it's like, can we just take the information we were writing in a blog and but put it in an easy-to-digest format that people are already spending their time on?

SPEAKER_04:

And so what you've built since then is just completely incredible. So could you take us through a little bit of the evolution?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So it started very much as just content in social media for about four years. And then in 2018, all the videos that we were filming online, those same videos were like those can be used as home exercise programs for other physios if you're going to see a physio and you need to do exercises from home. So then we created a platform that other physical therapists can create their own programs, and then from there we started a clinic. So it's very like completely opposite, I think, than most people that start a clinic and they say, Oh, I need to, I need to do something on social, like to scale or something. And then they start social.

SPEAKER_04:

Why do you have the videos on YouTube and in the app?

SPEAKER_00:

Completely different videos. The the goal of all the free content that we put online is again to educate people on how to take care of themselves and give them the tools and the confidence that they need to try to make behavior change. The app is then if someone wants to take that next step of, okay, I want to make that behavior change now. How do I do it? I need a plan. And the app gives them that yeah, it's more of a plan.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, exactly. I think when we think about like our role as like physios, it's not just so many people come, it's like, what's the best exercise for like low back pain, right? And that's kind of like what the YouTube and Instagram is. It's like if you want like that quick little tip or fix, that's where you go for that. But if you're someone who's a little bit more invested and you're like, I need a plan, a program, and like I'm invested in my like health, my like, you know, my injury, that's where like the app comes in. It's like something that builds off of, you know, that the free content.

SPEAKER_04:

What strikes me about your approach and everything that you're saying is just how patient-centered it is. You're kind of creating this world where recovery is something that people can own themselves a little bit rather than rely on whatever they're gonna rely on. You have this on-demand platform, but how do you think that that shift towards more autonomy changes the relationship between the patient and the practitioner?

SPEAKER_00:

I think it demonstrates value. Like we always say when it comes to patients and customers, we're never gonna try to convince them or sell them on our value. People should inherently value their health already, and then now they're they're coming in looking for a solution. So if we give patients the autonomy to and the tools to take care of their body or to recover from their body, that means they will inherently value their body to some degree more. So then they will now reach out to a specialist for a knee. They will now reach out to a massage therapist, they will now reach out to a mental health therapist, but it has to be driven by the patient, not the system saying, Oh, you need to go to a doctor. If the system's just telling someone to go to the doctor, the patient may not actually want that. And then they're not bought into the program. Yeah. Um, everything, at least with physio or even therapy, the patient has to believe that's the right thing for them.

SPEAKER_04:

Let's flip back to the the digital side, the online side. Social media is a hard game to be playing, and it's very crowded and it's very noisy. I know you've been at this for a while, but I wonder if you could help me understand what helped you cut through the noise and build this following.

SPEAKER_00:

Would you say cut through the noise as a consumer looking at social media or cut through the noise as a producer, creator?

SPEAKER_04:

I think I'm kind of thinking, I mean, I think they're both very related.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Uh, but as a creator, you're just getting started. Yeah. It almost seems like an impossible mountain to climb.

SPEAKER_00:

I think some of the the tips I would say is you just have to start. That's the first thing. Um, it's gonna seem like an impossible mountain if you say it is, and then you just have to start. I think that's one thing. Um, I think the second thing that is sometimes a little bit misleading, especially when it comes to in-person practices, is like an in-person clinic that doesn't have any digital or telehealth things, it's really hard to target those people in that community. Social media is probably actually not the best way to do it unless you're running targeted ads. Um, so if you want an organic following, meaning I post today, someone in India could be seeing it. Like it's just a it's a slightly different microphone than I guess more targeted Yelp ads or something, something that that your local community is going to use. So always start with why. Like, why do you want to start?

SPEAKER_04:

Was your intention from the beginning global?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, yeah. It was never to get clients, and we actually get very few patients for social media. People will be surprised to get you have a million followers, you guys don't get patients from them. No, most of our patients don't even know our social media exists. Yeah, because completely different demographics.

SPEAKER_04:

I love that you're calling that out because yeah, there's so many misconceptions when you talk to people about marketing clinics and the detail of where are you based, who how is social media gonna help you with the people who are actually gonna come in the door in your community, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Very different. I think, I mean, you'll probably touch on it, but I think that goes back to it's like the purpose of social media maybe for a brick and mortar is maybe different than what we do from an online platform. Like I think about like our clinic, and the purpose of social media is just to create like a sense of authority in the space, um, create a sense of community locally. It's very different than like an educational platform, right? So, and a global platform. They're two very different things. So I think, yeah, a lot of people like who have a clinic, like look at the pre-up guys and they're like, oh, like I want a social media follow like that. But also they don't realize that we're not actually that's not for our clinic.

SPEAKER_04:

That's for so how do you get people in the door? What's your strategy there?

SPEAKER_00:

Like referrals, it's it's your community, your network. Like that's everything when it comes to service-based business. You have to provide a good service, and then people will talk about it. If you focus on the service, everything else kind of follows.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like that's where it's like I don't focus on seeing people a lot. I focus on making the most out of my time with them and getting positive results. And then that speaks volumes, right? Especially in the population that I see. Like, I if I can help that ACLer who was in PT three times and wasn't able to get better, guess what? Now that surgeon is like, wow, like that clinic can actually help these people, and then they start to send us a bunch of patients. So yeah, just being a good PT. Do you think do you think that's simple?

SPEAKER_01:

Hey there, Christina here. Just a quick moment to share that this episode is brought to you by Jane. We know how much heart you put into building a practice you're proud of, and that's why we're here, to make things like scheduling, charting, and payments run a little smoother. If you'd like to take a peek, head to jane.app forward slash pricing. Because we love a good bonus, don't forget to use the code RadioFrontdesk for a one-month grace period. Okay, I'll keep it short and sweet. Back to the episode.

SPEAKER_04:

Do you think it always has to be separate? Like, is there a case where social media could help a business grow?

SPEAKER_00:

I think it definitely I think social media can be it can serve one of two purposes in the journey. It can either be the first time someone's aware of something. So they're already searching on some other food truck vendor thing, and you're there. I don't know. So you have an awareness piece, and then maybe you're you can be top of mind because you're post per posting content, or you can help with what we like to call consideration. You're you're now educating the person on what your services are, how you can help them, but you have to get someone there first. And I think that's the hardest part about social media is if you're gonna help people in your community, it has to be people in your like five to ten mile radius that see that. And that's the hardest part about it.

SPEAKER_04:

I I love that you're calling that out. There's an example that I have where it's actually a perfect model for using social media to grow the business, and it's an acupuncture clinic that specializes in like women's care, reproductive care. Because what do women do when they're looking to have a baby or when they're having challenges having a baby? They go online and they like obsessively look at everything they can possibly find. And so in that case, it works so well because the people are there online looking, and then you can boil it down to the number of people that are in the location, and that's how they handle it. Yeah. And I think that's something that people really miss when they're thinking of their business model and what growth mechanisms they're gonna use, is kind of mismatching the mode forward with the actual result that they're getting.

SPEAKER_02:

So one thing that popped into mind too, as you guys were just chatting through, is like because I think it's different for a brick and mortar versus like an online business, like not even just like something big like an app or a product, but I think of like some of the coaches that I know, like ACL coaches, like they only do ACL, but like if they post on social and it lands in someone in California season, they're based in New York, they can still help that person, right? So I think it's much more challenging when you're like a need of physical location to have that impact with social media. But if you don't have like any geographical limitations, then perhaps social media might give you a little bit more of an edge.

SPEAKER_00:

I think social media just has to be something that you're not losing at. I don't think you need to win at it for a brick and mortar. If your competitors around you are all posting, they can post, but you just need to exist. You need to have it just exist as a presence so that way if the Gen Z person comes over and looks on TikTok or Instagram, you at least have a page. You didn't like just disappear from their earth that was around on social media.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my god, they don't have a page. Yeah, yeah. You just have to exist. You kind of have to be there. Just be there.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So you don't have to kill it. You just have to be there. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Uh imagine there somebody's listening and they have a model where social media could really help them, but they're nervous to put themselves out there. Let's talk about actually getting yourself and your persona online. What would you say to somebody who's kind of nervous about it? Haters gonna hate.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And I would say you have to be yourself because if you're if you're not yourself, you're gonna end up regretting and just you're gonna end up hating all the time that you spend on it if you're trying to be someone that you're not.

SPEAKER_02:

And you're gonna attract the wrong people.

SPEAKER_00:

And you're gonna attract the wrong people. And that does and if that if you don't feel comfortable social media, then don't do it. It's like you don't don't feel the need to do it. You gotta be authentic to yourself or or yeah, it will not last long. You'll be able to start it, but you won't be able to continue with it.

SPEAKER_04:

How does somebody find out who they really are and think about it in a way where they could translate that into content?

SPEAKER_00:

I guess I'll share. I started writing on a Substack recently and I use Chat GPT a ton. So that was the first thing. And then I'm writing for me. So like when when I say for people to produce content, you need to be selfish. It's yes, it's for some greater vision or cause to help someone, but unless you're like, well, what am I going to get out of it? And that you're allowed to be selfish. Well, I want to learn. For me, is I need a place to get my thoughts out of it. I started journaling. It's like my self-therapy to like write, to spend a couple hours on a weekend and just get my laptop and just start writing. It's for me. And if it could help someone, great. But like I'm doing it because it helps me like calm my mind and get my thoughts out.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, I love that. Okay, I don't want to forgot your playbook. One of the things you say in it is be you. So we kind of went over that. But what do you think that your tone in all of your online content? What is the role of your tone in having it resonate with people? So it's not the fact just the fact that you're putting exercises up there. I could go online right now. I could ask ChatGPT, show me five online resources for physical therapy exercises, and I could find something else. But yours really resonate.

SPEAKER_00:

So I think it's staying true to why you do what you do. Everything has to boil down to why. And that's the same thing as why do companies have values? Well, they use those values to make hiring decisions, to make product roadmap decisions, to make operational decisions. Like you have to have some guiding truth. Like I mean, that's for us, it's it's our why. Why do we exist as a company? We're trying to redefine access to physical therapy so people can take better control of their health. If we are clear with our why, it means that how we accomplish that why can can change as we learned. Oh, we thought we should collect a credit card for an initial evaluation. Oh, but now collecting a credit card, people are can't like not booking as much. But we can change that. Okay, now we won't do it. Or we can pivot on the what. We can say, uh, we'll do a clinic in person, or we'll do a mobile app, or we'll do content on social media. As long as the why stays consistent in there, like all the other things can change. And if everyone in the company can like really believe that why, then it no longer has to be the founders doing everything, which will never scale that way. Everyone believes that why, knows that why. I mean, feel exude in all the work that we do as a team.

SPEAKER_04:

That's it for today's episode of Radio Front Desk. Huge thanks to Michael and Adele for sharing how they've built the prehab guys and for reminding us that growing your practice isn't about how many followers you have, it's about showing up authentically along the way. If you'd like to check out their resource on building an online presence that feels like you, you'll find the link in our show notes. Thanks for tuning into Radio Front Desk. I'm Denzel Ford, and we'll see you next time.