SportsMedicine Physician and Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Joseph J. Estwanik hasn't missed a week of weight training for 43 years. And when he's not practicing medicine, he might be bicycling, jogging, hiking, camping, pistol shooting, practicing martial arts, doing boxing aerobics or even open-water kayaking in a typical week. He has also acted as ringside physician for the past 18 years, supervising literally thousands of boxing bouts. Who should know more about how to exercise and how to do it safely?

The North Carolina-based doctor was tending to the sports injuries of a professional soccer team when he was asked to be a ringside physician at the USA Boxing National Championship event in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1981. He was surprised to learn that boxing, as a sport, was "stuck in the Dark Ages". "It seemed to be completely divorced from the academic milieu of sports medicine", Estwanik recalls. "I've been heavily involved since then in making positive contributions to the sport by incorporating the principles and practices of modern sports medicine".

He has elevated the academics of the combat arts to such a level that he now is chairman and organizer of an annual Ringside Physician's Course located within the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado. His 1995 course became international in scope with both instructors and participants arriving from foreign countries, with all profits donated to USA Boxing.

His expertise in disseminating down-to-earth and practical sportsmedicine wisdom to the general public has made him a frequently solicited speaker. Dr. Estwanik's 79 broadcasts on WBT radio's Injuries of the Week and 31 appearances on WSOC TV's Midday Healthbeat have honed his relaxed, yet enthusiastically sincere demeanor. A television interview in October, 1997 by the famed 20/20 on womens' boxing injuries has further established his credibility as a spokesperson. Quotes by the "doc" in USA Today, Detroit Free Press, Dallas Daily News, Black Belt, Fitness, Shape and US Air magazines have substantiated his dominance as "the source" for safety and fitness. Formerly the National Medical Chairman for USA Boxing's Junior Olympic Boxing Program, Dr. Estwanik was appointed Chairman of the SportsMedicine Committee for USA Boxing in 1992. Dr. Estwanik was awarded the Dr. Ray Wesson Award, National Physician of the Year, USA Boxing, 1997.

Dr. Joe Estwanik studied Orthopaedic Surgery at The Cleveland Clinic and Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His dedication to amateur boxing has taken him all over the world, including Moscow, London, Bangkok, Paris, Sydney, Beijing and Bombay. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, Janice, and he has three children.  He is also an avid photographer and a  former instructor of nature photography.