Under the Influence with Martin Harvey

How do you step away from a practice without everything depending on you? Dr Josh Slade has moved from being the sole chiropractor in his Cairns practice to leading a team remotely, while opening a new practice in Brisbane. In this episode, he joins Martin to share what worked, what went wrong, and what he had to learn to let go. They discuss: How to give your team ownership without stepping back...

They stopped care. The pain came back. Now they've booked in again. It’s easy to pick up where you left off. But something made them decide to return today. In this episode, I explore two words that help uncover it: “Why now?” Perhaps there’s a hiking trip coming up. They want to get fit for a wedding. Or they’re tired of struggling to play with their kids. We look at why people minimise their...

What does it take to build a practice you would happily send your own mum to? Dr Bec Bowring has been in practice for more than 32 years. Today, she helps lead seven chiropractors across three Sydney locations, each with its own community, team and focus. In this episode, Martin and Bec discuss how her work has evolved from a traditional chiropractic setting to collaborating with dentists on paedi...

What if your clients could actually see what was happening to their nervous system around an adjustment? That question sits behind Chiro Ring , the wearable Dr Vismai Schonfelder has spent the past few years developing. In this episode, Vismai joins Martin to talk about why he believes wearable technology could change the way chiropractors communicate the value of what they do. They explore how Ch...

What do you do when chiropractic itself comes under threat? In this episode, Martin is joined again by Dr Nimrod Mueller. The conversation starts with a fascinating shift happening among Gen Z chiropractors, team members and practice members: less interest in optimisation, career climbing and rigid commitment, and more value placed on autonomy, connection and quality of life. Then the conversation...

Wellness has spent years telling us to track more. Sleep. HRV. Steps. Blood sugar. Recovery scores. But what happens when measuring your health starts making you less healthy? In this episode, Martin sits down with Dr Nimrod Mueller to explore two trends from the Global Wellness Summit’s Future of Wellness 2026 report that could have big implications for chiropractic. They discuss the growing back...

We tend to think persuasion works like maths. One good reason is persuasive. So five good reasons must be five times better. Except that’s not how people think. In this episode, Martin explores the argument dilution effect : why adding weaker benefits to a strong reason can actually make your overall message less compelling. Using the example of a patient with headaches, Martin looks at why “being...

Most chiropractors know their PVA. Far fewer know what it’s actually telling them. In this episode, Martin breaks PVA into four ranges and explains what each one can reveal about your communication, retention, and where patients are dropping away. You’ll learn: - Why a low PVA may point to problems early in the patient journey. - Why a higher PVA doesn’t always mean your communication is working a...

What do you do when a patient has been trained to only come back when they’re in pain? In this episode of Under the Influence , Martin explores how to handle the “come back when it hurts” mindset without criticising the patient’s previous chiropractor or sounding like you’re trying to sell more care. The focus is on reframing the conversation from pain as the trigger for care to a broader understa...

Most chiropractors try to improve retention by explaining more. More education. More certainty. More “here’s why you need care." But people don’t change their behaviour because we told them something clever. They change when they see something differently. In this episode, Martin breaks down five questions that help patients move from a pain-based view of chiropractic to a prevention and performan...

What if success isn't something you chase, but something you create? In this episode, Martin sits down with Dr Erin Hawken to explore the four pillars that have shaped her life, career, and approach to success: • Rituals • Creativity • Growth • Ownership Together, they discuss why meditation and exercise are more than daily habits, how growth often requires letting go before moving forward, an...

What actually makes a great second visit? Most chiropractors think it’s about presenting a care plan. Others think it’s about convincing people to follow one. More explaining. More persuading. More “handling objections.” But before people commit to a plan, they’re asking something much simpler: Does this make sense for me? In Part 2 of this series, Martin zooms out from the step-by-step and explor...

What actually makes a great first visit? Most chiropractors think it’s about gathering information. Others think it’s about impressing people. Better explanations. Better credibility. Better findings. But before people buy into a plan, their brain is asking something much simpler: Do I feel heard? In this first episode of a 2-part series, Martin zooms out from the step-by-step and explores the psy...

What do you do when practice feels tougher? Discounts? More ads? Lower the barrier to entry? In this episode, Martin sits down with Dr Shady Botros to unpack a different path: relational growth. Over the last 15+ years, Shady has developed a framework for building genuine relationships with GPs that has led to more than 800 GP referral visits a year. Not by watering down chiropractic. Not by prete...

Most chiropractors think practice growth comes from big breakthroughs. New ads. New funnels. New “systems.” But the best practices often grow another way: Tiny improvements. Repeated consistently. A better question. A clearer explanation. A stronger handover. A more intentional experience. The aggregation of marginal gains. In this episode, Martin unpacks a common practice “shituation” : Someone i...

What makes an associate relationship last 19 years? In this episode, Martin sits down with Dr. Kieran Whelan to unpack why long-term associate relationships are surprisingly rare in chiropractic… and what makes them work when they do. We discuss: The hidden costs of owning your own practice Why autonomy, mastery, and purpose matter more than money alone How to create a practice culture people actu...

A client feels worse after an adjustment. Trust drops. Confidence takes a hit. And the question creeps in: “Did I do something wrong?” In this episode, I unpack a different lens. Because most flare-ups aren’t about bad technique… They’re about a mismatch between input and capacity . Inside this episode: Why reactions happen (and why they’re often misunderstood) How to assess someone’s capacity to...

Most chiropractors think growth comes from ads, SEO, or social media. Useful tools. But not the whole game. In this episode, I break down one of the most overlooked growth strategies in practice: The people already walking through your door. Your current patients often hold the key to your next best referrals through the trainers, dentists, physios, massage therapists, gyms, and local businesses t...

I went into theatre to watch surgery. I came out rethinking how I communicate. Surgeons have it easier (in one way): One problem One solution Built-in authority Patients who have to act We don’t. We’re asking people to keep going… after the pain is gone. That’s a harder sell. But here’s what surprised me: The most powerful moment wasn’t technical. It was a sketch. On the back of an envelope. Built...

Most chiropractors only ever see one practice. Mike Szabo has seen dozens. As a full-time locum, he steps into practices all over the place -different teams, different systems, different energy. Which means he sees something most of us don’t: Patterns. In this episode, we break down what separates practices that feel flat… from the ones that feel alive the moment you walk in. We get into: Why lang...

AI just flooded the internet with content. More posts. More emails. More “top 3 tips.” And less attention than ever. In this episode, Martin breaks down what that means for your practice. Why generic content is getting ignored. Why trust is now built offline. And how to grow faster by doubling down on what AI can’t replicate: Real connection Real community Real experiences If you want more retenti...

Most chiropractors have experienced this moment. You assess someone. You know what the best recommendation would be. But something makes you hesitate. Maybe they seem financially stretched. Maybe they’re older with long-standing degeneration. Maybe they just don’t look like a “performance care” person. So you soften the recommendation. Or skip the bigger picture altogether. But that creates a prob...

Every chiropractor knows the signs. Appointments get pushed out. “I’ll check my diary.” “Let’s just see how I go.” They haven’t left. But they’re already walking toward the door. In this episode, Martin breaks down what’s really happening when patients start fading in commitment. Spoiler: it’s not about scheduling. It’s about belief. Specifically: • Pain vs prevention health beliefs • Why people s...

Guy Reikeman passed away this week. If you’ve been around chiropractic long enough, you’ve felt his influence. Palmer. Life. Sherman. Renaissance. Quest. The Octagon. Vitalism. Vision. Video before video was cool. But this episode isn’t a history lesson. It’s a distillation. The ideas that shaped me. The principles that still matter. Inside this episode: • “Thank you for my life, I forgot how big”...

“If I don’t feel bad, I must be fine.” That belief quietly undermines retention, reactivations, and proactive care. In this episode of Under the Influence , Martin unpacks one deceptively simple question that changes everything: “Why now?” When someone has had a problem for weeks… months… sometimes years… Why now? Used well, this question: • Reveals what actually motivated them to act • Exposes th...