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Meet Dr. Brooke Olsen and Dr. Annie Brodsky of The Physio Revolution in Southwest Denver

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Brooke Olsen and Dr. Annie Brodsky.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In the footsteps of Grease and Back to the Future, all great stories start in a car… and I guess for us things were no different. We started running our business by visiting clients door-to-door, takeaway coffees in hand and smiles on our faces. Even back then, we saw that people needed us, and, in whatever way we could, we jumped at the opportunity to help. After a while, though, business car-style became cumbersome – traffic and the occasional car-trouble notwithstanding – and we were frustrated by the limited amount of people we could help. So, we dedicated ourselves to giving our clients a permanent home, so to speak. After that, we just kept following our dream of helping people, continuously inspired by the fact that we wanted to change something fundamental in a flawed medical system. We wanted people to be heard, and we have continued striving to make that a reality of every single person that enters The Physio Revolution.

Has it been a smooth road?
The truth is, being successful in business isn’t easy nor does it always follow a smooth path. Ask any entrepreneur whether becoming financially stable, running a business, and keeping your work-life afloat alongside your personal life is simple, and the answer is, invariably, “no.” But, you know, more often than not it’s all worth it. Pursuing your passion really does help get the job done, but the oftentimes sidelined reality of the situation is that starting a business is stressful, frustrating, maddening, and wholly exasperating at times – even with buckets full of passion. We’ve fought battles along the way to becoming what and who we are now, from doubting-Tom’s in the form of friends and family, to skepticism not only because we’re women, but because we’re lesbians besides, and even to experiencing personal doubts relating to potential opportunities missed – whether big or small – that crept into our hearts and minds in the dark hours. We’ve known what it’s like to have fears of inadequacy and feelings of being out of our depth. So, our passion played a big role in overcoming these obstacles, but it didn’t make things that much easier. Running a business takes grit. In the end, though, we’ve created a strong, enduring foundation for what our company is, who we are as individuals and partners, and where we want to go in terms of a synergy between the two. So, would we change anything? Not a chance.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
The Physio Revolution says a lot about itself in its name, actually. When we first opened the doors of our physical therapy health and wellness clinic in October 2017, our aim was to serve the people of Denver, CO, to the best of our ability. That meant literally revolutionizing the field of physical therapy in that area – and to date, our mission statement hasn’t changed one iota. Having conceived of the concept two years prior to opening our actual business, we have always had a very clear idea of what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. It is a revolution at the base level: we want people to be more active and mobile without the use of painkillers, surgery, or injections. And equally, we want to give people hope that something can be done – pain is not the end of a joyful life. Our clinic aims to brighten the days of each and every person who steps through our doors.

Life isn’t a random series of events – and in many ways, the story of how we came to be professionally successful says a lot about how we have grown in our relationship, too. We both share a love for our patients that extends beyond the daily 9-5 of most clinics out there. Early in our careers, we started noticing a major missing link in our health care system: people are generally treated as though they are just numbers, not individuals. We both hated that, and, in many ways, it was our common belief to put “people first, patients second” that brought this idea together. If we’re being honest, medical practice is so often about the quick fix it offers that it often forgets about the person sitting in the waiting room. And it is precisely that which we wanted, and continue to want to, revolutionize.

So, in other words, our goal was always clear: give people time, give them the opportunity to tell their stories, and give them peace of mind. And of course, help them with their pain. Time is key – true healing takes time, and we were (and are) always determined to supply it.

Here’s the thing: when it comes to pain, we really don’t need more options – our institutionalized medical system has offered us plenty, from pills to the Internet, to surgery, all the way through braces, etc. True healing is about better options. People in pain don’t long for a temporary solution to a permanent problem – it just never works. What they really want is the eradication of pain to live an active and fulfilling life. Period. In truth, the only way to achieve this result is to find the root cause of the problem and heal it. And that’s exactly what we do at The Physio Revolution.

We strip away the Band-Aids keeping you away from true health, and we give you the tools to achieve a life free of pain – one in which you can pick your granddaughter up, one in which you can meet your friend at a yoga class, and one in which you no longer flinch at the thought of getting out of the seat after watching a movie in the cinema. And even more than that, we want our patients to maintain a standard of living worth getting up for. Life isn’t about hiding behind the flimsy effects of a pill – it’s about living pain-free, joyfully, and without fear.

At The Physio Revolution, we believe in family and community. Countless patients come to see us because we’ve created an environment devoted to achieving lives that are lived well. The TPR community is committed to promoting healthy, natural options and giving answers to those desperately in need of them. We’re all about the journey – stories told over cups of coffee and tears shed over the realization that life can be pain-free.

The two of us started The Physio Revolution not because we were compelled to set up shop the way so many other physical therapy get-ups have done in the past, but because we have always been committed to the health and the joy of life.

And I think, in answer to your question, TPR is as much about the stories of those we help as it is about our own story as a couple. What makes us special is that we’re genuinely excited to help every single person out there. We love hearing how our patients “have been looking forward to coming all week”, and we’re equally excited to welcome newcomers to our ever-increasing family. Who can say they genuinely love going to work every single day? Well, we can. And how great is that?

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Absolutely. Denver has been and will continue to be a forward-thinking city in all that it has to offer. Majority of the population in this city are active, health conscious, and overall want alternative options.

Here’s the thing, if you have a passion and wild dreams to chase, you will find a way if you want it bad enough no matter the city you are in. All great things are possible here in Denver or anywhere… what matters most is YOU! It’s not the city that will hold you back, the only person that can hold you back is yourself.

And as with most things in life, a little luck goes a long way! In all seriousness, though, we both know that luck is the result of hard work meeting opportunity. So, though we have been incredibly lucky to live in Denver and have met the most amazing and inspiring people on our journey – from patients to mentors, to friends and family – we’ve also taken the opportunities afforded us along the way and made them our own. Denver, for us, was one of the best places for us to start our business since it’s where we feel most at home.

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