From Patient to Power Player: Taking Ownership of Your Health and Your City (with Gary Brooks)

Send us a text

Real estate developer Gary Brooks spent decades building some of Oklahoma City’s most ambitious projects. But after years of chronic stress, heart surgery, and a family cancer diagnosis, he reached a breaking point. When he finally stepped away, he realized something unsettling: success had masked how unhealthy he had become.

In this episode, Dr. Kevin White sits down with Gary to trace how that personal wake-up call turned into a larger sense of responsibility. Gary shares how learning to track sleep, stress, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk reshaped the way he understood health, and why “normal” lab work had quietly failed to tell the full story. As his own health improved, the question shifted outward: what happens when you realize your friends, your workforce, and your city may be heading down the same path?

That realization became the catalyst for the Healthy City by 2040 summit. Gary explains why the event is not about trends or quick fixes, but about creating a credible starting point for prevention, personal agency, and long-term health at scale. The conversation explores why Oklahoma City’s health rankings matter, how mental health and environment shape physical outcomes, and why empowering people with better tools may be the most meaningful intervention of all.

If you’ve ever felt worn down beneath outward success, or wondered how personal change can ripple outward into something that serves others, this episode offers a grounded reminder: transformation often begins when one person decides not to accept the status quo anymore.

Learn more about the Healthy City by 2040 initiative and the upcoming summit at www.healthycityinitiative.com
and follow along on Instagram at @healthycityinitiative.

If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Daily Apple and leave a review. It helps more people find the show.

Learn more at www.primehealthassociates.com
and follow Dr. Kevin White on Instagram at @KevinWhiteMD.

Prime Health Associates