How a Urologist got involved with roasting coffee, then Wellness and Aesthetics
I will start out by saying I have done stranger things.
In 2017 I was living in Columbus, MS and had been working full time as a board certified urologist when I made the decision to take my coffee roasting hobby to a new level. I had progressed over the years in this coffee addiction to the point that I wanted to do it myself. My coffee snobbery and dislike for Starbucks (charbucks) drove me to purchase a small at home counter top coffee roaster which on more than one occasion set off our fire alarm. This lasted about 2 months when I decided it was time to “go big”. I ordered my very own commercial grade Dietrich roaster from Idaho. I was able to pick out my own color (bright orange!) and put my logo on it too! Southbound Coffee Roasters was born. I was fired up, I was creating something, and I was able to make coffee the way I wanted to!
This roaster would not fit in my house. Furthermore it required an exhaust system and a gas line to be operational. I managed to partner up with a coffee shop in town and before long I was spending my after clinic hours and weekends roasting coffee. I was all in on this, learning about the process from the cultivation, processing all the way up to what happens on a molecular level when you heat those precious beans. I had a record player that spun vinyl records at the same time as the coffee roaster was working its magic. I realized that branding is important, so I named all of my blends after songs. My favorite was Sunshine Daydream blend, an ode to one of my favorite bands (Grateful Dead).
I was driven, I learned a lot, and I had a vision for what I hoped would turn into a long term adventure……
Well, that was fun, but its time for change…..
In early 2018 I had to make a decision about my “day job”. I was offered an opportunity to join a urology practice in Oxford, MS. I had an offer to work there many years before but passed up on it to do a fellowship. I did not go to Ole Miss, but have always loved the town of Oxford and its people, culture, and yes the fact that Ole Miss is there. I also had a lot of respect for the urologist in this clinic and welcomed the opportunity to join this group. I knew that despite the coffee roasting business I had started, urology was my most important job. It took precedence and I could not turn down this opportunity . I worked my last clinic day on a Friday in Columbus and started my new job at Oxford Urology Associates the following Monday. I’ll never forget the date, February 12,2018. I stayed in an apartment while Meredith stayed with the boys to finish out the school year. My first day there was busiest day I had ever had in a clinic up to that point, but I had great support and a surprise visit from my boys which I really needed!
I often tell people that my top 2 best decisions were marrying my wife and becoming a Christian. Moving to Oxford and taking a position at Oxford Urology Associates was easily number three. There was one problem though, I had a massive coffee roaster and I couldn’t take it with me. Fortunately, this all sorted itself out as a local church pastor decided to buy this coffee shop and jumped on the opportunity to carry on Southbound Coffee Company. Today, Southbound is thriving and under their direction has been more productive than I would have ever been able to make it. The really cool part is that they have used the income from selling their coffee to put back into missions! You see, I never really wanted to make anything off of this coffee company. It was simply a hobby that and all I wanted was for it to sustain itself. Although it wasn’t a huge financial success, I learned a great deal about starting a business and I found the whole process rewarding.
So yeah, I’ve done stranger things….. but really, how did I get to where I am now??
In 2019, roughly a year after my move to Oxford, I was fully plugged in to my practice. I was busier than I had ever been. I have always had a hard time not spending quality time with patients in clinic. Despite being in practice for 10 years I still have not developed the art of being able to efficiently see patients quickly. A lot of that has to do with the fact the I personally feel like I owe it to the patient to sit with them and take the necessary time to listen and understand their problems. And even though the volume of patients I saw on a clinic day doubled and even tripled I still somehow managed to take time to ask patients “is there anything else I can do for you”. I was told one time that asking that simple question at the end of an encounter has a major impact on a patient’s experience in clinic. As a surgical subspecialist, there are many times when you “stay in your lane” and simply can only help with the question at hand. For instance, I would often get the reply “well if you can do anything to fix my knee that would be great” or “if you can make my back pain go away”…..I am quick to tell these patients that I am not the guy that you want operating on your knee or back! I could make things worse on you!
What else can I do for you???
However, there were questions that peaked my interest and challenged me to look into what more I could do to help people. These questions were the “i’m just tired all the time” or “i’m losing my drive to be intimate with my spouse”. Then there were the “I just cannot get rid of this fat and I’m trying to workout and exercise but get no results”. There was also commonly the complaint “ i’m having a hard time staying focused through the day” and the ever present “I get a full nights sleep but still come home and just have no energy to play with my kids”. I couldn’t ignore these as I was also dealing with some of these very same issues. I wanted to find answers and try to help. Their other doctors didn’t have answers according to many, and some were simply ignored.
“the learning never stops, never…..”
I wanted to do something, so I went back to learning. If a doctor ever stops asking questions and learning, they aren’t the doctor for you. We all need to continually push ourselves and ask why. It’s called a practice not because we practice on patients, but because it is something that we continuously work on and try to improve upon. I wanted to be a better all around physician and needed to learn more.
I started with hormone therapy. I learned about the importance of hormone balance in men and women, and how this often neglected issue is so foundational to our well-being. Problem was, the most effective way to maintain this balance, through bio-identical pellet replacement, was not insurance covered. In medicine, so much of our medical practice relies on insurance reimbursement for payment of services. How would this work? Would people be willing to pay for something outside of what their insurance covered? I had my reservations, but the complaints persisted. It was time to take a step and try something new.
Good call! Come to find out, it worked! I tried pellets myself as well. I wanted to be able to share my experience with my patients, from the procedure ( 5 minutes, in the office, small puncture site) to the results and experience. It grew and grew. Word spread. Patients kept coming back. People were living better. It wasn’t just the pellets alone though. Patients were able to be more active, they had better sex lives. They got better sleep. They were more proactive about their health and lifestyle choices. It was a beautiful cycle and both men and women were seeing benefits.
I was still staying busy in the operating room and taking a lot of call. I could not continue to be at 3-4 places at once. I needed help, so I hired a nurse practitioner so I could better balance the load. Fortunately, I found one that was as passionate about wellness as I was! Lisa Clark continues to be a major part of our success in reviving lives! Then we needed more space. In 2021 the building next to our urology clinic was available for purchase and we decided to use this space for our pellet therapy. There was no sign on the building initially, we just escorted patients over for their procedure. I wanted to make something special for our patients. They were spending out of pocket money for their treatment and I felt they deserved more. I started learning and reading with the intent of finding out what other treatments we could offer to help our patients improve their lives. I wanted to provide them with the tools to help restore, re-energize, and revive their inner and outer beauty. We were seeking people that were intent on living healthier and happier lives, and wanted to be proactive in the process. What if this could be a full time operation? It’s own separate entity? Thats’s when Revive Wellness Clinic of Oxford was born.
I realized that hormone balance is just one peice of the complex puzzle of our lives. Their was so much more we could do. Everyone has different needs and goals, why limit them to just balancing hormones??? We added treatments for sexual wellness such as peptide therapy (men and women) and shockwave therapy for men with ED. Vitamins both oral and IV, herbal supplements for a variety of ailments that target stress, recovery, sleep, and immune support have been added. I have grown to realize how important it is to have self confidence by not only feeling good but also looking good (again, inner and outer beauty). We have been fortunate to become providers of several of BTL aesthetics devices which include EMSELLA, EMSCULPT NEO, and EMFACE. BTL is the leader of the aesthetics industry and these treatments are rapidly changing many lives!
None of this would have been possible without our amazing team! We all share the same philosophy and we all have a clear vision of our goals. We have 3 nurse practioners and just this month opened our new location in Starkville, MS under the direction of a good friend and like-minded physician Dr. Clifton Scott. I am still practicing urology full time and dedicate my after hours (after family/kid time) to reading and learning. I am soon starting a course in functional nutrition with the long term goal of getting certification in functional medicine.
So, the future at Revive is very exciting, we are ALL IN on helping transform lives! Moreover, I can honestly say that I am getting much more satisfaction in my career now than I ever did before. Instead of roasting my own coffee, I get it local and still have the crew at Southbound sending me a couple of bags a month. It’s been a fun journey so far, but I still have a lot to learn. That keeps me driven. The learning never stops, never. Strive to be better at whatever you do. There’s always room for more knowledge. Until next time!
Joshua G Griffin
@therevive_md
Call, email, or text us today to schedule your free consultation at Revive Wellness Clinics!