Community Highlights: Meet TJ Pierce of Pierce family wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to TJ Pierce

Hi TJ, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I received my bachelors degree in exercise science from the university of Nebraska at Kearney in 2001. From there I worked for about two years at 24 hour fitness in Denver Colorado. After a couple years of experience, I felt that I was ready to open my own gym. I made about every mistake a young entrepreneur could make, and the facility closed within two years. When my first facility closed, I took the clients that I had and went and rented some space at a nearby gym. During this time I was contemplating whether I wanted to stay in the industry or not. I felt like I was just giving the same programs to different people and basically counting reps. I was having a discussion with one of the other trainers at the gym who had his masters degree in exercise science. I had told him that I was considering either quitting the industry or going and getting my masters degree as well. he said to me that if I’m already bored with what I’m doing the masters degree is only gonna make it worse. He encouraged me to go to a seminar with him that was being held by the founder of the CHEK institute, Paul Chek. I went with him to the seminar , which was titled anatomy of the abdominal wall and proper training techniques. For about the first hour of the seminar, I thought it was great. He was discussing anatomy and exercises for the abdominal wall. But then Paul started to discuss things that I wasn’t quite ready to hear. He started to discuss how the foods you eat affect your abdominal wall. He started to discuss how emotions affect your abdominal wall. And you started to discuss the psychology of stress and gut inflammation. At the time I wasn’t really trying to hear any of that, and I actually got up and left the seminar. Fortunately for me on my way out, Paul had seen me leaving and offered me a free copy of his book titled “How to Eat, Move and be Healthy”. A few weeks after the seminar the book was sitting on my desk and I decided to start to flip through it. After a few minutes of flipping through it, I decided to go ahead and give it a read. My third time through it I knew that I was the one who had a lot more to learn. After that, I enrolled in Chek Institute and spent three years there learning how to blend holistic healthcare with advanced strength and conditioning techniques. I also got certified as a Holistic Lifestyle Coach with an emphasis on nutrition. In the third level of the CHEK practitioner program, we learned a lot of physical therapy techniques and test. The problem with that was in the state of Colorado, you are required to have a state license to put your hands on people. When I brought this up to Paul and ask how we could work around this he said, “I guess you’ll have to get a license”. So from there, I went to the Denver Integrative Massage School (DIMS). DIMS blended Thai massage with western techniques. Not only did this give me the license I needed to put my hands on people and practice all the advanced techniques that I’d learn at the CHEK Institute, but I was also able to help people that I could have never helped before with the massage therapy techniques. During this time, I had recouped my losses from my first gym and was ready to try again. This time with much more experience under my belt, I found a much more sustainable business model, and have been running my gym ever since. Following massage school, I discovered the work of Dr. Guy VOYER. Dr. VOYER was a medical doctor, then an osteopathic doctor, whom also held doctorate in pedagogy, the art of teaching. I’ve spent the last eight years studying under Dr. VOYER learning and utilizing his methods of Osteo-Articular pumping and osteopathic exercise techniques.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has it been anything but a smooth road to my current situation. When my first gym closed, I found myself in debt upwards of $60,000. I went through times of serious self doubt and depression. Prior to that I’d never really felt like I had failed in anything in my life, and this was a big slap in the face. It took me several years to dig out of the debt. Once my debt was paid and I was ready to open a new gym. A new set of challenges began. It took about a year and visiting over 30 different locations to find a good fit at the right price for my new gym. It took about three months of working full-time and then an additional 30+ hours per week getting the gym ready to open all while my wife was pregnant with our first son. Once the gym was open and my son was born I was looking at 60 hour weeks to keep everything going. Having a newborn and working those kind of hours, presented numerous challenges with my own physical and mental health. But with a supporting cast of my wife, clients, family, and friends we were able to make it through. After about eight years of running the business with my business partner, he fell upon his own life struggles and was unable to pay his half of the bills. We tried for months to find a solution, but in the end we had to go our separate ways and he left the gym, leaving me to run it on my own. This happened at the same time that my stepdad was slowly dying of heart disease. We spent many hours traveling back-and-forth from Colorado to Nebraska to be able to see him and help with his illness. Though many other things did happen during this time, those are few a few of the biggest challenges I faced.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Pierce family wellness?
Our system provides you a lifestyle that teaches you move pain free, enjoy increased athletic performance, and embrace years of longevity, so you can accomplish the life of your dreams. We converge the expertise of our team of Personal Trainers, Licensed Massage Therapists, ELDOA™ Certified Specialists, CHEK™ Practitioners, Registered Yoga Teachers, and Martial Arts experts to provide pain management, athletic training, and longevity exercises. We work with many clients as an alternative to surgery, an alternative to traditional pain management, and an alternative to living life on the sidelines. With online and in-person options in Centennial, Colorado and Elizabeth, Colorado we are the gym near you wherever you are!

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned through this journey is to continue your education. I know that the more I study and the more courses I take the more I am able to help people improve their lives. I know that the better their lives are, the better of an influence they are on all of the people in their lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.piercefamilywellness.
• Instagram: pierce_family_wellness
• Youtube: @piercefamilywell