On May 10 this year, Titan Nightlife Group CEO Scott Frost’s life changed forever when he was paralyzed from the neck down after a motorcycle accident. And in the weeks that followed, his business changed forever too, growing rapidly under Frost’s leadership from a rehabilitation center.
Through conference calls made from his hospital bed as well as meetings in Las Vegas’ Desert Canyon Rehabilitation Hospital (DCRH) conference room, Frost helped his company enter into a lease, finance and develop its first restaurant. Hussong’s Cantina at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas is scheduled for a December opening, and Titan Nightlife also was awarded a contract during Frost’s hospital stay to open and manage a nightclub at the Wild Horse Pass Casino & Hotel in Phoenix, set to open this month. Additionally, Frost founded the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Foundation, which aims to assist families and victims of spinal cord injuries immediately following the injury.
“We got so much done, I jokingly said to my partner (EVP Jeffrey Marks) that I should break my neck more often,” Frost quips.
As a result of the off-road accident in May in the Madeira Canyon, Frost suffered a central core contusion of the cervical spine, torn anterior cervical ligaments, a herniated disc between C3-C4, a broken nose and dislocated left shoulder, according to the web site created to raise funds for Frost’s medical bills, www.HealScottFrost.org.
After nine days in ICU, during which he had surgery to repair his neck, Frost spent 70 days at DCRH, where he did three to four hours of aggressive therapy daily. “When I entered the rehab hospital, I was unable to move anything below my shoulders and I had some sensation in my feet and arms,” Frost remembers. “And when I left the hospital, I was able to use what they call a platform walker to slowly take a few steps upright. I can move everything against gravity now — my toes, feet — and I can lift my legs up a little bit, my arms up a little bit.”
Frost credits his family and close friends with helping him complete the day-to-day tasks he could once so easily accomplish — answering and hanging up phone calls, returning e-mails and other basic movements — and he praises Marks for being there for him on the business side.
Immediately following the accident, Marks assumed the handling all of Frost’s duties. “My partner Jeff Marks really did a great job of A) sticking by me, not losing faith; and B) there’s things he’s good at that I’m not and there’s things I’m good at that he’s not. And suddenly he was thrust into doing it all. Kudos to Jeff for not panicking and for sticking by me and having to do the things that are not in his skill set.”
But the accident also forced Frost to develop a new skill: delegation. Because he can’t just hop in a car and drive to all of Titan’s meetings, which undoubtedly are often during this pre-opening time for both properties, he relies heavily on delegation, empowerment, communication and reporting to help him “be there” and share his vision with developers. “You can’t be the bitter guy in the wheelchair,” he explains. “I’m not a screamer and I’m not a yeller, so you’ve got to pick good people and do the exact opposite. You’ve got to be very motivating, inspirational and empowering to translate your vision and make sure it’s carried out.”
To learn more about Frost’s journey, visit www.HealScottFrost.org or watch video clips and view photos of his entire recovery process, search for the Facebook group “Friends and Family Pulling for Scott Frost to Get Well.”
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