physical therapy · Personal Training · Mountain Guide · spokane, washington

I grew up in Wappingers Falls NY, playing soccer and swimming competitively. When I was young, I was always frustrated by how often I was injured. I would go to my friend’s house and hurt my shoulder just pitching a whiffle ball or injure my neck just turning too fast. I knew I wanted to be able to play with my friends and be good at the sports I loved so I made it a mission to understand more of how my body worked. 

I started reading my parents’ exercise books and learning how to strengthen my body to meet the demands of sport. Quickly, I noticed that I was drawn to a lot of books written by physical therapists and decided that’s what I wanted to do. I was able to apply myself and get accept to the DPT program at Misericordia University along with a successful college swimming career from the training and learning I did throughout my teens. 

Enter college and grad school, where lifting weights was becoming more popular in the mainstream and therapy worlds. I began powerlifting and applied all the knowledge I was learning in PT, sure that I was on the right track to becoming a strong, capable, and pain-free individual. 

How naive I was. One year into my Doctoral program I suffered a back injury. I did everything right, followed the protocols, got treated by my classmates and professors. It got worse. I spent the remainder of my grad school in debilitating pain that limited me from being able to participate in life the way that I wanted to. Sure I looked fit and healthy, but ask me to pick that pillow up off the floor and I was in for quite an ordeal. I was going to school to be a movement professional and couldn’t even move. How could I help someone else with their pain if I couldn’t help myself? 

In hindsight, I was fortunate to learn early on that our modern fitness and rehab paradigms got it wrong. There were huge gaps in my education and understanding of the human body and movement that were limiting me from reaching my potential. 

Fresh out of school with a Doctorate degree, I began studying more alternative and modern approaches to movement and eventually stumbled upon Functional Patterns. Within 4 weeks of their 10 week online course, I was pain free for the first time in almost 2 years! I knew I hit the jackpot and began studying FP and Biomechanics heavily. I began applying these techniques on my patients with huge results! Soon, I felt more confident and capable in my body, ready to use it and explore the world.

I took a break from my PT career and did just that. I spent months living out of my car rock climbing up the West Coast, the hills of Kentucky, and Thailand. I traveled to China to climb high altitude peaks in former Tibet and thru-hiked the 2,200 mile Appalachian Train where I met my loving partner, Holly. 

Now you find me here, in Spokane, Washington pursing my love of movement and physical expression, and teaching others how to do it too! I started a career as a mountain guide to compliment my therapy practice and inspire people to interact with the world.

I love working with people who the traditional system has failed– people who want to move and experience this reality for all it offers. Whether thats playing with your kids or climbing alpine peaks, everyone has the right to freedom of movement, physical expression, and pain-free living. Having been on both sides, I can confidently say that you are not limited by your diagnosis or injury, only by your willingness to learn.