Rhys proudly sporting his Team GB kit :)
I have had the good fortune of four shoulder reconstructions during my playing career, without which I might not have met Rhys Shorney.
Rhys guided me through rehabilitation for my final procedure (during my Chiropractic training) and really served as a catalyst to the journey that has led to where I am now. Rhys really was the first person I had encountered who stepped outside of his 'box' as a Physiotherapist to bring another dimension to his care. He would never admit it but was an integral mentor figure for me throughout my studies and remains so to this very day. One thing he told me early on in our relationship; "Question and read everything. Bullshit until proven otherwise". This has served me well and was the start of my critical reasoning skills, so eloquently put! Rhys has recently returned from Rio, his second Olympic games for which I am truly proud as he has had such a profound influence on my journey. Most importantly to me we have gone on to become great friends. Thanks dude!
“Question & read everything. Bullshit until proven otherwise.”
Mum & dad at mum's graduation
Academia is not something that typically runs in my family. I (believe) I was scheduled to be the first person in my entire immediate family to go on to higher education when I studied Sport and Exercise Science in Cardiff in 2007-10 only for my mum to graduate 3 months before me!
My mum is a social worker and my dad is a retired Policeman. We have a saying in sport and health; "pick you parents wisely!". I could not have picked better for without the love and [financial!] support of these two none of this could have materialised. I am sure my sisters Hollie and Chloe will agree on this. A central theme that runs through those societies in the 'blue zones' is the importance of family. Not everyone is so fortunate to have a family that enables ambition to become a reality. I don't take it for granted. I have one grandparent with me and she can be found in my 'Layman Luke' portal. She keeps an eye on things ensuring it truly is layman. It is unfortunate that my two grandfathers, Eric and Joe, can't complete my 'Peer Review' team. I know they would be proud of what we have created.
My journey through health care has been unorthodox and challenging both intellectually and logistically. A masters in Chiropractic is totally self funded, without the sponsorship of our closest family friend Steffan Gdula it could not have been done. Another member of the 'forever indebted ' club.
Further support through my studies was provided by my respective rugby clubs. The first half of my 5 year masters was spent playing for Builth Wells RFC, my home town club where we built memories I will never forget. I am now really pleased to be able to give back to the club with my weekly rehab clinic where we work on long term player development. The latter half of my degree was spent playing for Ebbw Vale RFC which was the pinnacle of my playing career. Here I was not only part of arguably the richest club history in Welsh rugby, but a treble winning championship side. Here I played under Jason Strange, now head coach of Wales U20s and as previously stated this is where my relationship with Rhys Shorney began. After returning from Kenya playing international 7s for an invitational team I made the difficult decision to retire based on my long standing shoulder injuries. I remained with Ebbw Vale for the remainder of that season and worked under Rhys Shorney and headed up individual player nutrition programming and conditioning. I have great respect for the people and the club, we achieved unprecedented success that I will always treasure. My advice to anyone lucky enough to still be playing; enjoy every moment, you never no which one will be your last.
Happy families. From Left to Right: Hollie, dad, me, Chloe, mum.
The Championship winning side 2013-14. See me just left of centre, in the shadow of our formidable skipper and good friend Damien Hudd.
Me & Paul on route to one of our mountain bothy hideouts...
As you can hopefully see, this website is much more than just Luke R. Davies. I have received some truly amazing support from colleagues and clients alike, I will not go into those but simply direct you to their testimonials if you are interested. If I have one true quality I think it is in my ability to collate great information and input from brains far superior to mine and put it into one place. That place is this website, this is where I will be parking everything in my head over the coming months as the brand develops. I have to thank Elwyn Davies of PixelHaze for a fantastic job in building both my brand and the website. You can make your own opinion on the quality, Elwyn is accessible to anyone in mainland UK, he comes highly recommended.
They say as soon as you are the most intelligent in the room you are in the wrong room, and that you are the sum of those closest to you. I guess thats how I have gravitated towards such amazing people as each of them drive me on to better myself. As long as I keep Francesca, Rhys and Paul in particular near by there is no danger of me being in the wrong room. According to the 'Blue Zones' you might say I 'found my tribe'. :)
“No one gets out alive. You might as well have a good laugh”
There is nothing really new in health, nutrition, exercise, movement and lifestyle. My efforts, as with many before me is to wrap it up slightly differently and hopefully simplify it for my readers and clients. For the bits that are new and being discovered I take great pride in my efforts to stay on top of the latest evidence. It was for this branch of my company that I had mentorship throughout 2016 under Ben Cormack of Cor-Kinetic. Ben is a speaker at the 2017 San Diego Pain Summit, testimony to his prominent position in the Industry. Ben is a heavyweight in deciphering the literature on movement, rehabilitation, pain science and Bio-Psycho-Social research. There is something endearing about someone so intelligent with such a broad cockney accent! Again, most importantly for me, Ben knows how to have a laugh and I am grateful for his input. I can't recommend his program enough. Caveat: you have to be prepared to question almost everything you hold to be true! :)
