Connect
To Top

Meet Dr. Amber Hollis of The Vitality Center in Baker Neighborhood

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Amber Hollis.

Dr. Hollis, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I never wanted to go to college. I wanted to drop out of high school (thank God I didn’t) and travel around and listen to music and play. When I didn’t make that dream happen I continued working at my first job I got at the “wise” age  of 16. It was a cute little coffee  shop / bakery in Centennial, CO called My Favorite Muffin. It was the most memorable time of my life- even to this day. I created my own family and friends and 22 years later I am still in contact with the owner Mark, who I will be forever grateful to for allowing me to start my journey there.

I learned what true friendship is, I learned what family is, I learned what responsibility is, how to wake up when no one should be up at the ass crack of dawn and be at work at 4:30am. I also learned what irresponsibility was, how to burn muffins, how to deal with anxiety,  what community was and what connecting with people was… I learned a lot!  I spent 7 years there, ending up manager at the ripe age of 21.

I realized I probably didn’t want to work at the coffee shop for the rest of my life and contemplated “what I should do with my life”. I wanted the easy route and didn’t want to work too hard. I wanted to “help people”- whatever that meant. The idea of Massage School was introduced to me and as I looked into it, the ONE year program was attractive and I would be helping people! Perfect! Easy peasy… I could do anything for ONE year.

I continued working and started massage school where my life changed. My Anatomy and Physiology teacher, a woman named Paige, to this day holds the “Who Changed My Life the Most” award. She was a beautiful woman- the type of person who just had something different about her. You know the type… You can’t quite tell why, but you are inspired by their very presence. It was in her class that I became fascinated with the human body. I couldn’t get enough. She was the stepping stone, the turning point.

While spending time with Paige, I became fascinated and inspired to learn about things outside of the physical realm. This is how my combined love of science and spirituality sparked. She is responsible for my first yoga class, and I will be eternally grateful for that. Shortly thereafter, yoga became an instrumental part of my life and my growth in this life. When I felt alone, yoga was there for me. When I felt sad, yoga was there for me. When I felt angry, yoga was there for me. When I felt so happy I almost felt guilty, yoga was there for me.

After my ONE year of school all I wanted to do was learn. That year led me to another year of advanced training in postural work. And after years of playing with the human form in my massage work I was bored and craving more. That was the beginning of my undergraduate work that led me to my Masters of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nutritional Health Coaching, and then on to my Doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. So here I am today- someone who didn’t want to ever go to college and after 11 years of training, schooling, and a doctoral degree, I find myself unsatisfied and craving more and more learning. I thought I was bored and bouncing from passion to passion, but as my dear friend calls it- “I am just delighted by the world”. It is true. There are so many things to learn and experience and I cannot get enough. But I am going to try!

As much as I prefer learning about health, science, nutrition, medicine, psychology and the interconnectedness of all of those, I have found myself forced to learn how to be an entrepreneur. In all of my training, that part was missing. That ginormous piece of the success puzzle is left out for us practitioners to later realize that “if you build it they will come” is not a true statement. That struggle was and is real! I just want to play doctor, but instead I also play marketer, administrator, business owner, manager, entrepreneur, saleswoman, etc. All hats that I don’t want to play aside, I love watching what I am building, the lives that are changing, the health that is gained, the clarity that is found, and I wouldn’t change it.

I have been building my Natural Medicine & Wellness Clinic called The Vitality Center in Denver, Co. My focus is helping people with a wide variety of health complaints with a specialty in digestive health. As I have focused on being a professional (but fun!) doctor helping people through lifestyle changes, nutrition, personalized herbal medicine and acupuncture, I realized that stress, emotional health and a person’s own thoughts were having a major effect on whether someone gets well or not. That is the critical piece that must be intertwined and talked about.

My goal is to have The Vitality Center be a place where people come not only to address illness and wellness, but a place that they look forward to go to because they can have fun, be silly, be encouraged and coached on how to not take themselves so seriously, be more free and playful, grow, be more relaxed, less stressed, more vibrant, healthy and happy, and possibly be prescribed a journal exercise, meditation or a full on temper tantrum rather than meds. We make going to the doctor fun and very different. Just because we can have fun and be a little different does not mean that we don’t deliver top of the line health and wellness care. We do. And I truly believe that it is the combination of good fun and good medicine that make my clinic stand out. After all, the phrase “laughter is the best medicine” is true and scientifically proven to work.

It is music to my ears when someone comes in and says “I have been looking forward to this all week”. THAT is why I do what I do. People deserve and desire more than they are giving themselves. My mission is to wake them up, inspire them to take action towards an excellent life. Why settle for mediocrity when excellence is an option? That is what The Vitality Center stands for. It is a center for re-centering- A center to be human excellently.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not necessarily been a smooth road. I got into this medicine to help people and practice and it didn’t occur to me I would also have to learn how to run a business. This was never taught to me, so rather than focusing on helping people and learning more about my profession, I have to focus a lot of time and energy learning business management.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Vitality Center story. Tell us more about it.
The Vitality Center is a place I created for people to come and ENJOY getting well. No one likes going to the doctor’s office, so I wanted to create a more fun, relaxed, compassionate doctor’s visit where it feels safe and easy to discuss what is going on in your life AND you get amazing natural healthcare and attention.

The Vitality Center specializes in Traditional Chinese Medicine- Utilizing Plant based medicine, acupuncture, nutrition, “mindfulness practices”, as well as mindless practices. “Mindfulness” is a hot topic and also not well understood. I use the term here as an umbrella category of practices to help with stress relief.

Although many people know us for our skill in digestive health, we are recognized for “nurturing” quality. I am passionate about guiding people back to health – physically and mentally, and helping people find answers that were nowhere to be found in their conventional medical experience. We focus is on searching for the root cause of illness rather than masking symptoms with medications.

I am proud to say that I practice what I preach. I push people to make better choices, make less excuses and help them recognize the will power and strength inside of them. We, as humans, can do so much more for ourselves and I help people realize their true potential.

We are not a “poke and pay” Acupuncture clinic. We are about true health and wellness and that is never attained by one appointment. Our clinic is not for people who want to try acupuncture for a one time experience. Our clinic is for those who are seeking and craving wellness, and for those who want more out of life. That takes a bit of planning. We work with our patients for a recommended period of time based on their goals. Sometimes that takes a few weeks, sometimes a few months.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I have been blessed with supportive individuals that believe in me and have invested in me. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without my amazing husband and a magical human who calls himself my “Believer in Chief”. These two people have given me the time and tools to start my business the way I wanted. It would have looked a lot different without these two blessings in my life. I am grateful for them every day.

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in