Four Inane Questions with whole health practitioner Rick Folten

Courtesy photo

Rick Folten is not only a doctor—he plays one on TV. Literally. If you think the Overland Park chiropractor looks familiar, it’s for a good reason. Folten has been cast in countless print ads and TV commercials over the years. 

After years of working in the construction industry, Folten needed a change of pace and went back to school to become a whole health practitioner.  He proudly tells us he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Cleveland University with his Doctor of Chiropractic degree. Along the way, he also received his functional medicine certification and became a fitness coach, which—as he puts it—”allows me to create the perfect blend of corrective care needed to optimize your health.”

To say his downtown Overland Park clinic, Full Spectrum Back and Body, is hoppin’ would be an understatement.

“I’m passionate about digging down to the root cause of the injury or illness to create true regenerative care for my patients,” he says.

We caught up with the chiropractor between appointments to ping him with our query of questionable questions. Dr. Rick only had 20 minutes but made us run a mile alongside him during his break.

The Pitch: What’s been your weirdest brush with greatness? 

Dr. Rick Folten: I went to Los Angeles about six years ago to try to find a new agent. While I was there, I phoned a friend who was a producer. We started chatting, and I told him I was in town, so we set up a meeting. He said to stop by the set, and we could grab a drink after work. Turned out he was shooting a pilot with Kevin Nealon and his wife. They had me shoot some scenes with them that day. They were great to work with.  

Oh, and I got to shoot a commercial with some guy named Patrick Mahomes. That was a pretty cool story, too. Maybe we can talk about that another time. 

What does your nighttime beauty regimen entail? 

Have you looked closely at my skin? I’m trying to bring back the Sam Elliott look. Now if I just had his voice, I’d be rich.  

In truth, six months ago, I started using these X39 stem cell patches that boost your collagen naturally. Turns out, they work. I have them in my clinic now, so I can hook you up if you want to age in reverse. I put on the patches, drink a glass of filtered water, take my nighttime supplements, and I’m ready for bed.  

Eight to nine hours of good sleep is the key to good skin. Someday, I’m going to try to do that all in one night instead of spreading it out over the whole week. 

What’s your favorite stamp on your passport? 

That would be my stamp from Haiti. I went back to school to be a doctor late in life and thought it would be cool to make a chiropractic mission trip to some remote area that really needs doctors. 

Interestingly, our trip landed two weeks after a coup in the main city of Port-au-Prince and two weeks before a major hurricane hit the island. We were under a travel warning the whole time. 

I prayed more on that trip than at any time in my life, except during my chiropractic boards. All in all, we had a wonderful experience. It was a beautiful scenic village, the people were incredibly hospitable, and we did some amazing service work for that community. We actually grew accustomed to being escorted everywhere with machine guns.   

When you were in kindergarten, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be 7 years old. I was a hellion as a child, and my mom often made statements about me not living to see my next birthday. 

Early in my education, I wanted to be the principal. I spent a large part of that first year in his office. He had a nice couch and a window in his office that looked out at the 4-square court. He seemed like a cool guy. I called him Bill. His name, it turns out, was Mr. Chandler. It said Bill Chandler on his desk, and I knew how to spell Bill.   

We actually got to be friends by the end of the year. He knew my parents by their first names, too. I like to think it was an enriching experience for each of us.

Bonus 5th Question: What’s a horrible dad joke you love or are famous for?

Why would you assume I tell horrible dad jokes? Did you know that only 12.5% of all dads actually tell horrible dad jokes, and 84.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot?