Olaf Growald
If you’re among J Mack Slaughter’s more than 240,000 followers on TikTok, you’re likely familiar with his energetic delivery of medical advice, sprinkled with spunky humor and, occasionally, a peek at his musical talents.
Meet him in person, and he’s not much different in real life.
Naturally showy and charismatic, Slaughter draws from his past life growing up as a performer. As early as age 3, Slaughter found himself thrown into the entertainment business, thanks to his family, a traveling troupe of musicians who played events around and outside Fort Worth. As a teenager, Slaughter took to L.A. to pursue an acting career, landing big-time projects like “Fat Albert.” (Yes, he was that spiky-haired White kid.)
But after a few years in the industry, Slaughter began to think twice about his career path. His sister, a nurse, inspired him to pursue medicine; so, in a move he likened to “getting out of a relationship,” he dropped music and acting to become an emergency medicine physician.
“I’m just a high-energy person. I need that stimulation, and the ER gives it to me — everything on,” he says. “I just turned my back completely on music, performing, acting, and all that stuff.”
Fast-forward a few years later when Slaughter’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. As she was going through chemotherapy, the family band got back together — for the first time in what felt like a lifetime ago — to play for her while she was undergoing chemotherapy. Playing for his mother had a way of reigniting Slaughter’s passion for music and eventually inspired the launch of his Music Meets Medicine nonprofit, which supports music therapy at children’s hospitals.
Perhaps the sum of his life experiences, however, didn’t entirely come full circle until this year when a friend encouraged Slaughter — currently an independent contractor who works mostly within the Texas Health care system — to start a TikTok. A video about the COVID-19 vaccine seemingly took off by accident; and today, the Fort Worth doctor can rightfully call himself TikTok famous.
“I feel one, complete, whole — it’s the best,” Slaughter says. “To be able to bring all of these things that I’ve been passionate about at different times of my life, all together at the same time — honestly, it’s a dream come true.”
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Playing instruments with his wife and children. “My concepts of love, music, and family are all inextricably tied together to form one beautifully overwhelming emotion,” J Mack says.
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The family band. J Mack started performing as early as age 3.
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Shaving his mother’s head prior to chemo was “one of the most surprisingly beautiful days in my life,” J Mack says. She’s currently in remission.
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J Mack has known his wife, Rebecca, since elementary school.
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J Mack credits his sister, a nurse at Texas Health Southwest, for inspiring him to pursue medicine.
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Treating his parents to a trip in Thailand.
Top 5 Tips for Better TikToks
It’s all about the hook. You need something that will grab the viewers’ attention in the first 2 – 3 seconds, or they will scroll right past your message, no matter how important it is.
Value. Make sure each and every post provides value to the viewer, whether it’s entertainment, education, emotion, or engagement.
Trim the fat. TikTok is like the Twitter of video platforms. The more you focus on delivering value in a clear and concise manner, the better your videos will do.
Quality. Upgrade the look and sound of your videos without breaking the bank by ordering an affordable ring light and mic on Amazon. Most ring lights come with a phone mount, which will get rid of any distracting shakiness of recording by hand.
Consistency. In the beginning, post every day, multiple times a day if possible, until you figure out what works for you. Trust me, you will know when it works. Your video count will suddenly have 100 – 1,000 times your normal views. Figure out what you did right in those viral videos and do your best to make more like it.
