Dr Shawn Baker 🥩@SBakerMD
1991, I had just dropped out of medical school to go play semi-professional rugby in New Zealand.
I was 22 years old, working out at a place called Sgt Rock’s gym in Galveston Texas, while going to medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The owner of the gym, a guy named Paul McCartney, not the Beatle, was a chiropractor who was the captain of the local rugby team, which was coincidentally affiliated with the medical school.
Now at the time I was 6’5” about 240lbs, I could squat over 500 lbs and deadlift over 600, was lean, fast and could jump out of the gym. He somewhat jokingly, but was also being serious, told me that if I wanted to continue to train at his gym then I needed to come play rugby for his team.
I thought about it for a few days and thought, what the heck, it could be fun.
I went out to my first practice and learned about scrums, rucks, knock ons and how to tackle people. A few other medical school students were there as well as a mixture of a bunch of locals include the Lopez brothers, Steve, John and Chris “AKA Chowder Head”.
I picked things up reasonably well and the first match they stuck me out on the wing. Usually, that position was for smaller fast guys and the guy playing opposite of me on the other team was like 90lbs lighter than me. The wing runs around a fair bit but doesn’t often get the ball very often. My first game was fairly uneventful as I recall.
Eventually as I got a bit more familiar with the game I was moved into what known as “the pack”. Where I played what is called second row or lock and eventually some time at number 8, which honestly is one of the best positions in the game in my opinion.
Anyway, I start my journey with the local club team and by the end of the season I get selected to be on the All Texas team, and shortly after that the all Western US team.
I can remember becoming obsessed with rugby to the point that medical school became a thing I had to do between practice and matches.
About halfway through my second year of medical school one of our professors, who happened to be from New Zealand starting talking to me about bringing me to New Zealand to play for one of their teams.
The team was called Hautapu RFC and it was a team in the premiere division of a region known as the Waikato. They apparently every year recruited a foreigner to help fill out their side, often South Africans and sometimes Americans.
They said they would fly me out, house me, feed me and pay me a small salary.
Honestly the decision for me was pretty simple. Get payed to go play a sport that was a blast or toil away in medical school.
Needless to say, I chose the more fun option and a few weeks later I was on my way to New Zealand. The medical professors thought I was nuts and asks me to reconsider, my parents
