Ken Mack – Class of ’79, UNC Football Letterman and Former Assistant Coach
You have to listen to your body. There’s a tendency for men to brush things off, but if something feels off — you’ve got to pay attention to it."
-Ken Mack
Video Transcript
Michael Washington:
Ken, you’ve had an incredible journey—from playing football here at Carolina to returning as an assistant coach. When you think about men’s health today, what stands out to you most?
Ken Mack:
I think men’s health is extremely important. Too many of us ignore it until something tragic happens. When I played football here, we had annual checkups before we could even step on the field. But after I stopped playing, I’ll be honest — I let that go.
I’m embarrassed to say that I probably didn’t have a physical again until I was around forty years old.
Michael Washington:
And that caught up with you later, right?
Ken Mack:
Yes, it did. On the outside, I looked fine. I was in shape, active — but inside, things were very different. I had two heart attacks within a 24-hour period.
It turned out I had coronary artery disease, which we traced back to a few factors: poor nutrition, family history, and stress. Those were the big three for me. And I’ll tell you, that was a wake-up call.
Michael Washington:
Looking back, what have you learned from that experience?
Ken Mack:
First, you’ve got to get in there and get checked. That’s step one. Go see your doctor. Don’t wait until something forces you to.
Second, you have to listen to your body. There’s a tendency for men to brush things off — to tell ourselves, “I’ll be fine,” or “It’s just stress.” We push through the warning signs. But if something feels off, you’ve got to pay attention to it.
I think that’s one of the biggest contributors to the health problems we see in men. We simply don’t take the time to notice what our bodies are telling us. If we did that earlier — if we actually paid closer attention — we could prevent a lot of the serious issues that show up later in life.