Originally hailing from southern California, Dr. Mazzola attended UC San Diego graduating with a degree in Biology and a great love for Pacific Ocean surf. After accepting an Air Force scholarship to attend medical school, he packed up and moved east, landing in beautiful central Pennsylvania. There he graduated from Pennsylvania State’s College of Medicine, learning to appreciate central Pennsylvania’s unique culture along the way. A major highlight was living literally “across the tracks” from HersheyPark and listening to the band U2 practice for a week while preparing for their American concert tour.

Dr. Mazzola then completed a residency in Family Medicine with the Air Force at David Grant Medical Center in northern California, a program in the top 5% of the nation. It was there he met his wife. There, he also developed a love of Orthopedics, working as Chief of the Cast Clinic managing non-surgical fractures. He also got his first taste of Primary Care Sports Medicine working with Dr. Jeff Tanji at the University of California at Davis, a passion he never did lose.

Working alongside his physician wife as a Family Physician with the Air Force, Dr. Mazzola had the good fortune of starting a Sports Medicine clinic at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. This is also where he developed a love for powder skiing. Next, the Air Force saw fit to move the Mazzolas to Italy for a 3-year tour. Upon his return to the states in 2003, Dr. Mazzola was accepted into a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of Colorado. Training with excellent physicians while caring for the CU Buffs and DU Pioneers remains a highlight of his career. Moving back into the Air Force, Dr. Mazzola was honored to be named as a Team Physician at the US Air Force Academy. While he’d never had a better position in the Air Force, he and his family sensed it was time to settle down, and so they joined Pagosa Springs Family Medicine in southwestern Colorado. There, he started his own company, Pagosa Springs Sports Medicine, which he built over a 3-year period. It was in Pagosa that he developed his Musculoskeletal Ultrasound skills after attending a course at the Mayo Clinic.

Life in Pagosa was terrific, yet the Mazzola doctors (husband and wife) both learned how difficult it is be a subspecialist in a small town. Their ensuing search led the couple and their two boys to the Denver area, where Dr. Mazzola first learned of Cornerstone Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. He was particularly attracted to their drive for excellence founded in the service mindset of the Christian faith. Faith and living for the Lord have been the ultimate guide for the Drs. Mazzola, and so they feel particularly blessed to be working with such a fine group of physicians at Cornerstone.

Ultimately, Dr. Mazzola wants to provide excellent care to his patients, which hopefully leads to excellent outcomes. Although medicine can be very humbling, indeed, he has learned that “caring” is the first job of the physician. Only then will technical expertise and deep knowledge have a proper avenue to positively impact patients’ lives. So, this is Dr. Mazzola’s daily prayer- that he would be granted the wisdom of how best to apply knowledge and care to positively impact his community, one person at a time.