Meet Brig Woods | Performance Physical Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brig Woods and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brig, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
First of all, I was working for a large national physical therapy practice. I was tired of working for someone else and not getting the support I needed from the organization as I ran clinics for them. Secondly, and the most important thing, I knew the amount of time and energy I wanted to devote to my family and my community. I knew that I would never be able to give that kind of time to them if I was constantly working and grinding for someone else. I wanted the ability to create time, financial freedom, and create generational wealth for the future. When working for someone else it’s tough to create a schedule that allows you to see your kids off to school, be there when they get home, and create the kinds of experiences and memories that I want to create for me, my wife, and our children.

What should our readers know about your business?
If you’ve been to physical therapy you will recognize how different our practice is compared to what is thought of as “traditional” physical therapy. Most PT practices have their therapists see anywhere from 2-4 patients an hour. I remember I was routinely seeing 75-100 visits/week. I was only able to see people 15-20 min before passing them off to a tech to do exercise. As a profession, we have gotten to the point where we pass off unskilled passive modalities as skilled care.

I am most proud of the fact that we only do 1 on 1 treatments with our patients. We don’t use any techs or aides. We have the time to address what needs addressing. We have time to see you move and watch you do the activities that are causing you pain and discomfort and then work from there. Because we treat this way, most people only have to come once a week because they are getting all of our attention for a full hour. So we actually end up saving people both time and money.

I’m also excited by the fact that our practice looks more like a gym. I have heard from multiple patients at their first visit, “this doesn’t look like a PT clinic I’ve ever been to.” When you come to therapy you will see people using barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, and doing exercises that are both corrective and functional. Now don’t get me wrong we use bands and things like that, But my goal is to get you to be able to move as much as possible even while you’re injured, because like we say around here, “Movement Is Medicine. So get your daily dose.”

As far as how did I get to where I am business-wise. I started this business as a side hustle last October and was able to grow it to be my full time gig. I’m only a year in to my business and I have seen tremendous growth. We are on target to be hiring an administrator by the end of the year and looking to hire a part time PT next year with them growing in to a full time position. People have been looking for a different way to do therapy and we are providing that to them. This has not been easy. I got here through hard work, lots of support from my wife, and recognizing that I was going to have to spend money to develop myself and my business. What has really pulled me through, and it sounds cliche, is my “why”. There’s an exercise I do every quarter where I drill down 10 levels deep to discover my why and my purpose. When things get tough I fall back on my “why”. My reason for doing all of this.

Probably one of the biggest lessons was learning that there was a direct correlation between my own personal development and the success of my business. You have to invest in yourself. I have read more personal development books and put them in to practice in my life. Two that have really impacted me are “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” and “Atomic Habits”. I also joined a mastermind that has really mentored me as a business owner. The other lesson that I’ve learned is that Facebook ads and Google ads are great, but there is nothing quite like making yourself a member of the community and serving your community with what you do.

And lastly I want the world to know that I believe deeply that movement is medicine. That the most powerful thing someone can do to improve their health and make sure that they can do the things they love with the people they love is by choosing the right physical therapy. We are on a mission to build resilient human beings who can move well into the later stages of life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Man! This is such a great question. I tell people all the time that Phoenix is one of the greatest places for food and that Arizona has so much more to offer than just golf and shopping.

I’d try to cram as many of these hikes in as possible. Flat Iron. West Fork Oak Creek Canyon, Fossil Creek, The Crack at Wet Beaver Creek, Cibecue Falls or anywhere in Sedona, If we could I would bypass all of that and take 2-3 days to do Havasupai. We would try to SUP the Salt River and check out the Wild Horses. Definitely need to experience first Friday in downtown Phoenix.

For meals we would probably check out Liberty Market, TOPO, Sweet Republic, Cibo, Hanny’s, Welcome Diner, Ta Lew Thai Bistro. Unfortunately one of my favorite places to take out of towners, The Tuck Shop, went out of business during the pandemic

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
100%! First and foremost I want to give a shoutout to my incredible wife Mackenzie. She believes in me and was willing to go along with the risk of leaving a a steady paycheck to pursue the dream we have of having our own practice and being able to provide employment and support to others. She takes on so much at home so I can focus on building and scaling our business.

Also I wouldn’t be here without the book by Danny Matta “F*@$ Insurance!” and the PT BIZ Mastermind of Danny Matta, Yves Gege, and Jerred Moon. Prior to that book I could see that the current physical therapy model of an insurance company dictating how much therapy you get and where you can go was broken. I just wasn’t sure how to change it. That book and this group gave me the kick in the butt to practice the way I currently do and gave me the tools to have a successful practice and business.

Lastly, the functional fitness and athlete communities here in the Gilbert, Queen Creek, and Mesa area that have trusted me with their health and wellness and continue to support us.

Website: www.polarisptphx.com

Instagram: @polarisptphx

Facebook: www.facebook.com/polarisptphx

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnDilk1ZkUS3JZKNZAmyPiA