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J. Mack Slaughter shows a Children’s Medical Center Dallas patient how to play the guitar as part of Music Meets Medicine, a nonprofit that he started with Michelle Nichols and Greg dePrisco. (Courtesy photo | J. Mack Slaughter)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/JMackSlaughter.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/JMackSlaughter.jpg?fit=600,400&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series highlighting some of Fort Worth’s top social media influencers.Dr. Michelle Nichols had a dying wish: a concert in her own home with 12 distinct performers, each with sentimental value for her and her husband.Nichols had stage four breast cancer, which later spread to her brain, liver and spine. Nichols’ husband and a radiology doctor specializing in body imaging, knew he needed a miracle. He turned to the only person he knew who could pull it off.Enter: J. Mack Slaughter, a Fort Worth emergency room doctor with over 1 million followers on social media. Slaughter’s mission online? Showcase social media’s power to do good.J. Mack Slaughter

Age: 40

Occupation: Emergency room doctor

Education: Bachelor of Science in neuroscience from TCU; Doctor of Medicine from UT Southwestern; residency specialization in emergency medicine. 

Family: Married to Rebecca Slaughter. They have three children: son J. Mack III, 10; daughter Vivian, 8; and daughter Stone, 4.

Socials: @dr.jmack on Instagram and TikTok“I turned to the internet and begged for help. I told them, ‘My friend is dying, this is her dying wish, and I can’t help them, can you help me?’” Slaughter said. Slaughter has never shied away from the spotlight. At 15 he was in the boy band Sons of Harmony, a group formed through the Irving-based radio program “The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show.”Slaughter then moved to Los Angeles to work in the television and film industry. He landed acting roles in “Like Family,” a sitcom that aired on the WB, and “Fat Albert,” a movie based on the 1970s cartoon. Slaughter, though, wanted another mountain to climb — medicine.He enrolled at Texas Christian University and pursued a degree in neuroscience, with post-graduation plans to attend medical school.“I was so singularly focused on becoming a doctor, I had this to-do list on my refrigerator,” Slaughter said. “No. 1 was to become a doctor. No. 2 was, ‘If there’s any free time attempting to accomplish No. 1, you’re not working hard enough.’”Slaughter graduated from TCU in 2009 and started his medical doctorate at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. There, he met a professor who changed his life — Dr. Michelle Nichols.The pair’s friendship grew as Slaughter trudged his way toward his medical degree. Nichols often hosted dinners for students at her house. Nichols and husband dePrisco also helped Slaughter start his first nonprofit, Music Meets Medicine. Their lives have been intertwined ever since, dePrisco said.The organization donates instruments and music lessons to children at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. The group installed jam rooms, allowing children to play instruments without embarrassment. Music Meets Medicine has raised over $150,000, Slaughter said.Nichols first received her cancer diagnosis 12 years ago. Slaughter played the guitar for her during her chemotherapy sessions. He knew music helped, even just a little bit. A decade before, he strummed to comfort his mother when she had breast cancer.Meanwhile, Slaughter’s life was changing. He married his wife, Rebecca, a friend from elementary school. They had three children.Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Medical misinformation and distrust ran rampant. He turned to social media.“No one knew where to get information,” Slaughter said. “I wanted to help educate on what I was actually seeing in the emergency department.”Slaughter fused his passion for entertainment and medicine with videos on TikTok. His selflessness to inform came at a cost, Rebecca said.The couple struggled to manage their busy schedules. “I never resented it until we were supposed to be at the end game and back as a family unit,” she said. “He would come home and lock himself in a room for six hours working on a video.”They turned to counseling, and Slaughter was ready to give up social media. Rebecca thought about it, but realized he found another sense of purpose through his posts.Michelle Nichols, left, watches a performer in her living room at her Moonshot Concert in 2023. (Courtesy photo | J. Mack Slaughter)Through the years of growth and plenty of time management, Slaughter’s posts grew from myth debunking to medical advice, emergency room stories and family content. His accounts grew to over 1 million followers.Enter Nichols’ last wish. With a tap on his phone, Slaughter got to work.The posts about the concert reached over 5 million views.His plea caught the attention of 10 of the dozen artists Nichols wanted. Some came to Nichols’ home. Others left a private link to a YouTube video or set up a Zoom call. One group even reunited for the cause.“There is huge power for good for taking thousands of people and aligning them together on one important goal,” Slaughter said.Through this feat of unity, another branch of Music Meets Medicine was born: Moonshot Concerts.“What I experienced was extremely powerful,” Slaughter said. “After experiencing that power, I can’t just stop here. I need to do this again.”As Nichols’ husband, dePrisco said he made the right decision in trusting Slaughter with the monumental request.Nichols died weeks after her concert last year. Her husband doesn’t remember who performed or the songs. He paid more attention to his wife enjoying their home filled with music. Slaughter’s effort taught dePrisco to aim big, a lesson he plans to carry for the rest of his life.“The bigger goal and bigger dream, it’s about how you say goodbye,” dePrisco said.That’s the power of social media Slaughter wants people to see.Ryan Thorpe is an audience engagement fellow at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ryan.thorpe@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.