Nikki here, owner of Revolution. I’ve yet to put into writing online the beginnings of this budding beast that is Revolution. I also don’t like writing so I’m going to do this in my own style, which is try to be straight to the point but you get all the details and a novel.
(Spring 2014) Building a practice:
As an Athletic Therapist (AT) working in the private sector, I can tell you it’s a struggle building your own business. It’s an uphill battle for all of us in the private sector but I believe AT’s get the short end of the therapy business stick. Most people don’t even know what Athletic Therapy is, never mind having an insurance plan that covers it or a doctor that prescribes it. This means as an AT, you need to be freaking fantastic at what you do and hope to GOD people tell their friends and family about you.
Anyway, I did something right because my little practice was growing. Located above a bowling ally on the second floor in a room in a gym, I believe word of mouth is the only thing that sustained that gym’s clinic. Then at one point I realized I was choosing to work one-on-one with the clients and preferred it that way, but there are only so many hours in a day and I wanted to help more people. So a friend recommended using Instagram and Facebook to connect with more people and educate them. That is where the name Revolution Rehab came into existence, I needed an IG handle!
What’s in a name?
The name has two meanings:
The first was to change the way we look at therapy and make it about communication and understanding (revolutionize therapy).
The second was based on my interpretation of the Athletic Therapy treatment model - rehab the initial injury, but go beyond allowing the client to surpass themselves with the goal of avoiding future injury (to circle around and lap yourself in a revolution).
So now I’m trying to create content for social media and guess what? I HATED IT!! It’s so non-specific and I found it lacking the individual nuances that working one-on-one with another human brings to the table.
(Summer 2016) A change in perspective:
During this time I took a trip to a fitness conference but found myself lacking interest in the popular classes like booty blast, hard core abs and crap like that. Instead, I ended up in the smaller rooms chatting up large chain gym owners, CEOs and fitness craze creators. I remember speaking with them and thinking, “If this guy can do this, so can I. If they can make fitness so acceptable, palatable, and mainstream, since the days of Arnold, why can’t I do that with therapy? Why can’t I break down the barriers between medical professional and human being?”
There was a fire lit under my ass but I had no idea what was cooking!
So, apparently I was a ball of fire when I came back to Winnipeg because the gym owner overheard me speaking about this revelation and that night we had a sit down and chat. He said it was in the best interest of his gym to keep me there for as long as possible and asked if I wanted to oversee the clinic. I told him I wasn’t interested in investing in his business and so we decided it made the most sense to have Revolution rent the space and dissolve the gym’s clinic.
So, now I had the chance to create a space that supported other therapy professionals that had the same values I did. Revolution was then incorporated and became it’s own entity December 2016, I went to a lawyer to make sure the contracts were done correctly and started sending out feelers for like-minded therapists. This was the main criteria (aside from the legal/ professional competence stuff):
- is passionate about physical therapy and helping people
- values working one-on-one
- respects other types of therapy and therapy professionals
- has plans for continuing education
- has a sense of humor/ and good interpersonal skills
It took a YEAR to find a multi-disciplinary team of therapists and to get everyone integrated into Revolution. We’re a family, new therapists have come since then and some have gone, but they are family and we are ever growing our therapy family! I believe if you support the therapist, they provide the best service. Therefore, Revolution is actually there for the therapist and in-turn, our clients are the main priority to their therapist every time they step in the door!
The next step:
Once this Revolution entity began to take shape, I realized the current situation was not going to be sustainable for the type of vision I had. So we began to search for a different clinic space late fall 2017, and found our new home at 230 Marion Street.
THAT is another story, but we have been in our new home for 6 months (since Oct 2018) and our therapy family is happy, meaning our clients are getting results, healing and moving on with their lives, and that is what is most important!