Day 1 of 365 on the road from surgery to an Olympic-distance triathlon Follow along

The PT becomes the patient.

I'm a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a board-certified orthopaedic clinical specialist (OCS) in Los Angeles.

In October 2026 I had a shoulder labral repair. I spend my days helping people recover. Now I'm the one recovering, and I'm documenting all of it on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

See my recovery stack Follow my recovery

Mathew on day 1 after surgery, arm in a sling with an ice machine — Day 1

Day 1of 365

This is where I'm at today. There's a long way to go.

Surgery, October 2026Olympic-distance triathlon

Mathew crossing the finish line at Ironman Portugal in Cascais — Finishing Ironman Portugal in Cascais. Next up: an Olympic-distance triathlon, one arm at a time.

Real recovery from a PT's point of view

I've spent my career on the other side of the table. Now I'm the one in the sling.

I share what I actually do. The rehab, the setbacks, the gear and the supplements. The good days and the bad ones.

I've done an Ironman before. This time the goal is an Olympic-distance triathlon, starting from a sling.

Doctor of Physical TherapyDPT
Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical TherapyOCS, American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties
Ironman finisherTraining back to an Olympic-distance triathlon