From Jeffers, MN to Sydney, Australia: Cody Hanish, DC ‘09

Dr. Cody Hanish’s Instagram bio describes him as the “Best Crack in Sydney.” 

Originally from the tiny town of Jeffers, Minnesota, even before Hanish had finished his studies at NWHSU, graduating in 2009, he had the urge to travel to Australia—going so far as to research chiropractors within the country and email them to express his interest in relocation. “I was already planting the seed,” Hanish remembers. “I went to visit these people—I was in Sydney for a week, and I went to the Gold Coast for a week, and by the time I was leaving, I had two job offers waiting. I took the chance to move there.” 

Hanish said he assured himself that if he were miserable on the other side of the world, he’d return to the United States.  

That was 13 years ago. He’s still in Sydney. 

Hanish explained he works roughly 43 hours a week, but long before he was putting in that kind of exhausting days of adjusting patients who travel as far as six hours to “get cracked by Dr. Cody,” he spent the first three years in Sydney under a work visa before becoming a permanent resident. After a year as a consultant, Hanish bought a small practice in the Sydney suburb of Potts Point, and ran it as what he called a “one-man show” for six years until he began renovating, expanding, and upgrading the equipment. 

He recalls learning as he went in terms of acclimating to life in Australia, and admits chiropractic care is still not seen as “overly mainstream” in the country, but the acceptance has grown over the last decade. “I’m in the fortunate position to be able to showcase chiropractic to millions of people,” Hanish said about the profile he has built for himself on Instagram.  

With 304,000 followers on his page, and his estimation that all of the videos he shares on Instagram having been viewed a collective four billion times, Hanish is hopeful about the kind of consideration and conversations his presence on the internet may have. “I’m not going to say that I am ‘the best,’ but I have been given a huge platform,” he said. “My philosophy is just to help as many people as possible. If someone in London sees one of my videos and something clicks in their mind, or inside of them to take that next step after they think, ‘Oh, chiropractic care looks like something that might be good for me,’ that person reaches out and opens up a conversation.”  

Hanish also has developed an endowed scholarship at NWHSU for others wishing to get into the field of chiropractic.  

“I am at the point in my career where I feel indulged to give back,” he said. “I want to leave something to help others. It is pointless for everyone to have to pave their own way. If I can pave at least the driveway, and make it a little smoother and nicer to get a head start for someone, I will do whatever it takes.”