By Pattie Stechschulte
Editor’s note: Today’s Chiropractic, recognizing the legacy of doctors
who have influenced our profession, will feature some of the past leaders and
visionaries of chiropractic in each issue in our Profiles in Chiropractic section.
The goal is to let you, our reader, learn a little more about the people who
have shaped our profession.
Ian Grassam, D.C., was a renowned chiropractic practitioner, lecturer and spokesman,
who profoundly touched the lives of thousands of chiropractic patients and practitioners.
Whether it was at his clinic or during one of his speeches or through his dedicated
volunteer work, Grassam became one of chiropractic’s finest advocates.
But at the young age of 56, he passed away following a short battle with colon
and liver cancer at his home in Stuart, Fla., on Nov. 26, 1999.
Discovering Chiropractic
At the age of seven, Grassam immigrated to the United States with his parents
from Glasgow, Scotland, and settled in Michigan where he met and married his
childhood sweetheart, Janet. Through her involvement as a contestant in the
World Posture Pageant, he became acquainted with her chiropractor, Roger O’Dell,
D.C. It was O’Dell who then introduced Grassam to the world of chiropractic.
Grassam enrolled in O’Dell’s alma mater, Logan College of Chiropractic.
In 1968 he graduated from Logan and returned to Michigan to open his first practice.
His friend and fellow Logan classmate John Hofman, D.C., recounts the early
days of Grassam’s career:
“He built an excellent practice where he would see over 400 patients a
day,” recalled Hofman. “He was one of the first to see very large
numbers.”
The Wolf Pack
During his early years in practice, he developed close friendships with three
other chiropractors, and they became collectively known as the Wolf Pack. The
group consisted of Dr. James Gregg, Hofman, Dr. Charles Ribley and Grassam.
“It was based on the expression, ‘The power of the wolf is in the
pack, and the power of the pack is in the wolf.’ It basically meant that
the group itself acted as one, and each individual had power but the power was
given to the group,” explained Gregg.
The group of friends met at least three times a week to discuss chiropractic.
Hofman explained that they talked about, “What we were going to do, how
to do it and what can we change. We pumped each other up and as old friends
we told enough lies to make the other guy work harder.”
They put their words in motion by developing the Michigan Chiropractic Council,
which remains the largest state chapter of the International Chiropractors Association
(ICA), and then continued to help develop an awareness of chiropractic in the
state. Grassam turned his attention to state politics and became a frequent
visitor at the state capitol in Lansing.
“He was responsible for leading the changes in the laws and he was behind
having the first chiropractor appointed to the state board,” said Hofman.
It was around this time that Ribley introduced Grassam to Dynamic Essentials
and to Sid E. Williams, D.C., a young chiropractic advocate who had a dream
of starting a chiropractic college.
The Formation of Life College
At the beginning of Life Chiropractic College, Grassam was named the school’s
international fundraising chairman and was a charter member of the board of
trustees, which he served on until his death.
“I don’t believe Life College would be in existence today without
his help,” Hofman said. “Even though it was Dr. Williams’
vision, Ian was the one who went out and promoted it and got the money, along
with Ribley, Greg and myself.”
Aside from fundraising, Grassam and his associates held student recruitment
meetings for Life College all over the state of Michigan which would attract
up to 200 people. Based on estimates, there are at least 150 practicing chiropractors
today who he directly encouraged.
He continued to be involved with Life by helping with accreditation and attending
CCE meetings with Williams. During the early years of Life Chiropractic College
West, Grassam helped in the launch of that school by serving on the board for
two years.
In the 1980s Grassam and his family moved near the town of Stuart, Fla., where
he proceeded to open five successful clinics and once again became instrumental
in forming the ICA’s state chapter—the Florida Chiropractic Society.
He was also involved with the ICA on a national level by serving as a regional
director and helped develop a program for new practitioners called “Nuts
and Bolts.”
The Golden Tongue
Starting in the 1970s, Grassam was a regular presenter at the DE meetings and
had a reputation of speaking to standing-room-only crowds.
“His nickname was the golden tongue,” said Hofman. “He could
bring you to tears or to your feet. He was one of the best speakers in chiropractic
that I have ever heard.”
Gregg concurred with the “golden tongue” label.
“He would just put magic into the words in such a way that people were
just absolutely enamored by him,” Gregg said. “It was a wonderful
thing to watch because he could touch their hearts in a matter of seconds and
by doing that he was able to change the lives of thousands of people that became
patients and chiropractors.”
His power of speech kept him very busy as a featured speaker across the country
and around the world. He was often called on to debate against members of the
medical community. His most famous debate was in the 1970s against Stephen Barrett,
M.D., the well-known chiropractic critic.
“He destroyed him,” said Gregg of the Grassam-Barrett debate. “Ian’s
entire being was chiropractic. He absolutely lived for chiropractic every second
of his life. It was never a job. It was never something that he left at the
office. It was something that went with him everywhere because it permeated
every part of his being. So, wherever Ian was, chiropractic was.”
Ribley sums up Grassam’s power: “He was the chiropractor of the
new-century type of thinking, and he saw that the chiropractic principle coming
from a conservative approach was destined to change the world. He lived his
life from that perspective in every way.”
Pattie Stechschulte is a contributing editor to Today’s Chiropractic
and an award-winning writer based in Marietta, Ga.
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