UNB Alumni
Telling our #ProudlyUNB stories

It was 2009 when a tragic accident changed the course of Dr. Mike Wahl’s (BScKin’00) life. A routine flight from St. John’s, Newfoundland was headed offshore to the White Rose oil field carrying workers for the rigs when the helicopter when down. All but one person died on that flight, and the investigation later identified several variables that may have prevented the tragic deaths: one was the fitness of the workers. 

Mike – at the time a graduate student at Memorial University and an entrepreneur focused on health and wellness – felt compelled to shift his research focus to the importance of healthy workers in the workplace and how fitness can truly be the difference between life and death. His work quickly became more about putting real health back into health and safety than simply promoting weight loss and exercise. 

After growing up in Fredericton playing and coaching sports, Mike pursued a degree in kinesiology at UNB and worked as a student therapist with the REDS sports teams. After graduating, he worked in the United States in strength training before returning to academia to complete a master’s in applied exercise physiology at Memorial University, while continuing to train sports teams. During his PhD in medicine at MUN, Mike began to see clearly that many people struggle with their health goals due to the onslaught of often conflicting information found in mainstream culture. With this in mind, he built a wellness business with the mission to support clients in realistic, scientifically backed weight loss strategies. As the business grew, Mike began working with clients in all areas of heavy industry – from mining to construction to oil & gas. His understanding of the strain put on heavy industry workers’ bodies has made him a sought-after wellness expert in the offshore oil & gas industry.    

While Mike grew his business and continued pursuing a PhD, he honed an evidence-based, holistic approach to wellness that created tangible results. His work has informed policy changes and actionable workplace programs in North America and around the world, and his work has garnered international recognition and has taken him to all corners of the world from the North Artic to South America, Europe and North America.

Having sold his company to the Medisys Health Group (which was then aquired by Telus Health), Mike is now a professor of biomedicine in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University. He’s also a radio and podcast host with a weekly show that garners a large audience, and he’s launching his own TV show, The Wahl Show, on NTV this fall! On it, Mike will meet with experts in wellness and learn what we need to do to improve our health and what advice viewers can apply in day-to-day life.

“The show is exciting and gets to the deeper points people need to hear. There is such great research being done but we wanted a bigger way to engage the community and amplify the work being done at MUN and other places. The university has been a great supporter. And the team behind the show – including director BRAEDEN KING and director of photography James MacKinnon – have been instrumental in making this one of the best shows on Canadian TV.”

“I look back on my time at UNB fondly. I loved the hands-on program and how it taught us to be dynamic. I was given a lot of responsibility as a student and it really prepared me for my future.”

Catch The Wahl Show premiering October 2^nd on NTV. And listen to Mike’s podcast and other offerings through his website.