Daily Inspiration: Meet Robert Scrivner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Scrivner.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Broomfield Colorado, always in love with the outdoors. As a child I spent most of my days playing outside, climbing trees, riding bikes and generally running around with friends. I’ve always been fascinated by the human body and how we move.

As a teen, I continued to spend my days outside. I joined the cross-country team at my high school when I was a sophomore, and suddenly it was like nothing else in the world mattered besides running. I knew that I’d like to go to college someday but my family didn’t have the means to pay for me to go to school. I set my mind on earning a scholarship and running at the collegiate level. I was extremely lucky to have great coaches, mentors, and friends at that time who encouraged me and helped me to achieve my goals. My senior year of high school was a rollercoaster of challenges at home mixed with success on the track that eventually led to a scholarship at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. By then I had a good idea of what I wanted to do as a career: Physical Therapy.

In college, I was surrounded by inspiring people every day who helped further shape me and challenge me in positive ways. I competed on the cross-country and track teams for several years and had an opportunity in 2014 to spend my summer living in Estes Park at the YMCA of the Rockies. My intention that summer was to take advantage of the high elevation in Estes for training so that I could return in the fall for a great cross-country season; instead, I was introduced to rock climbing and my path took a turn in a completely new direction. Following the summer of 2014, I was obsessed with traveling to climb and experience the world.

My first real climbing trip was in 2014 to El Potrero Chico in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. On that trip, I met my best friend Kirtis who I would later climb big routes with all over the United States. During my last two years of college, I became hyper-focused on getting accepted into physical therapy school and learning as much as I possibly could about rock climbing.

In the spring of 2016, I was extremely lucky to be among 68 students admitted to the Physical Therapy program at the University of Colorado. The next three years of studying to earn my DPT were certainly the most mentally and emotionally challenging years of my life. I somehow managed to prioritize climbing during those years, sometimes at the cost of my closest relationships.

When I finished graduate school I knew one thing for sure: I needed to live in the mountains. I needed to live where I could get outside every day, even if only for an hour, to play and be connected to the natural world. The old saying “It’s all about who you know” turned out to be true when I graduated from PT school and was looking at jobs; an old college friend and teammate of mine got me connected with her family who owned a fitness center and physical therapy clinic in Estes Park, and I had the opportunity to start my career in the town of my dreams.

Of course, life is unpredictable, and in 2020 as the pandemic took hold, circumstances changed everything and I had to reconsider my path. A new opportunity arose for me to start a private practice with a like-minded clinician who was new to town. My business partner Alisyn and I took a big risk and opened Alpenstrong Physical Therapy on January 1st, 2021. With Estes Park’s active population, we knew there was a market for a more sports-oriented PT clinic, and we were able to find our niche in town right away. Now, just over a year into this business venture, I can’t imagine life being any other way.

I’m excited to announce that our small 700sqft clinic will be expanding in July 2022 to accommodate more space for us to provide better care to our patients, and to begin offering more training and coaching services.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I am fairly convinced that no path to success is a smooth road, and that the challenges we face along the way make us who we are.

As a child, I saw first-hand how America’s opioid epidemic was affecting families – I grew up in a home with a parent who had been prescribed opioids to treat post-surgical pain and became addicted and reliant on these drugs for nearly a decade. I assumed a caretaker role at around 12 years old, worked multiple jobs during my high-school years to help pay the mortgage, and moved out of our home the week I turned eighteen. Being raised in that environment taught me how to look out for myself and set boundaries early in life, but I also saw how our medical system was failing people by masking pain rather than addressing the root cause – this was an early inspiration for my future career.

The road to becoming a doctor of physical therapy, business owner, and competent alpine-climber obviously came with its own challenges. I feel extremely grateful to have a community of people who have supported and challenged me along the way

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I own a private physical therapy practice in Estes Park Colorado where I work with outdoor athletes (professional and recreational), active older adults, and anyone dealing with musculoskeletal pain. My two great passions in life are helping others get back to enjoying what they love, and climbing difficult technical rock routes high up in the mountains.

While my work in a small rural town requires me to be competent as a generalized clinician, I do specialize in treating climbing injuries (particularly the shoulder, finger, and tendon problems). While there are many physical therapists in Colorado and Utah who are experienced climbers with a breadth of knowledge, I pride myself in having a specific skill-set for working with alpinists and climbers who spend a lot of time in remote-areas.

My background as a competitive runner set me up well to transition into alpine climbing, and I’m particularly proud of my accomplishments in the mountains. I’ve climbed countless grade V routes around the world including in Patagonia, Mexico, and throughout the western United States. I am also very passionate about seeking out and developing unclimbed lines in the mountains and in the foothills near my home in Estes Park.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I really look up to Tyler Nelson of Camp 4 Human Performance (C4HP) out of Salt Lake City for continuing to learn about climbing injuries and novel training and programming strategies.

Steven Dimmit’s “Climbing Nugget” podcast is one of my favorites, as his guests are typically professionals in regards to training, rehab, and pushing the sport of climbing forward. Allie Ward’s “Ologies” is a close second!

I rely on the Essential Anatomy app by 3D4Medical on a daily basis to learn more about the body, and as a tool for educating my patients.

Pricing:

• Remote Consultation ($60 for 45 minute Zoom-Call)
• In Person New-Evaluation ($135 for 60 minutes)
• In Person Follow-Up Session ($95 for 60 minutes)
• We also accept Medicare and Medicaid
• We offer a sliding-scale payment system for those in financial hardship

Contact Info:

• Website: alpenstrong.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alpenstrongpt

Image Credits
Dominic Rickicki