Like, that's a cool, it's a serious intro.
It's a little cheesy and corny,
but I like it like that.
It sets the tone.
Sam Foster, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much.
Thanks for having me, Jimmy.
I mentioned this before we hit record.
The goal is what if I could do, I mean,
that's a bold statement.
I said, what if I, in four to five years,
do a thousand of these PT
Business Blueprint conversations?
What if I could do a thousand?
And that's two hundred a year.
But also, if they're fifteen minutes,
that's totally doable.
And the goal of today's conversation,
this whole series,
is show other therapists
who are working now,
maybe they're in school,
maybe they're thinking
about becoming a PT,
the thousand different ways
that someone can provide
physical therapy or the
thousand different things a
PT could do to help people
and build a business around that.
I also think that in our...
Our hearts is this Peace
Corps gene that we're like,
I want to help people.
It's like, how will you do that?
I will open a practice like
that's a business.
That's a business.
Like, let's say that word.
And that's good because if
your business thrives,
you can help more people.
So you're doing business in
a little bit different way.
Let's get your backstory first.
How have you been a PT
previous to what you do now?
So I graduated PT school in
two thousand fourteen background.
Before that, I was a school teacher,
got hit by a car on my bike,
led me down the path to PT and loved it.
Love outpatient PT,
specialized in back pain,
really successful in the
local region and decided to
try for a business idea
that my husband and I had.
And here we are today.
Is he a PT as well or this
is just like a like a combo?
It's a combo.
He's in construction.
Good.
I like that because.
What he might lose in not being a PT,
he makes up for in not being a PT,
in not having a blind spot.
All right,
so what's the business that you went for?
We opened Frostfire, Sauna,
and Cold Plunge.
Got it.
So clinicians out there are going, okay,
I hear Frostfire, cool.
I like the logo behind you
if you're watching my live stream.
Looks very, very appealing.
I hear Sauna and Cold Plunge.
But from a PT perspective,
not a patient perspective,
what's the business look like?
It's all about recovery.
So it's getting people in
the door to do the sauna, cold plunge,
but while they're here, I'm coaching them,
I'm educating them,
and that's the door into, okay,
I've had this ache, I've had this pain,
what could I do about it?
And that's how I bring
people to the PT side.
I call this and I'm going to have her on.
I've said it for a while.
We just have a match
schedule as a friend of mine,
Megan Brown.
I call this a Trojan horse.
This is come in for the sauna,
come in for the cold plunge,
come in for what you think is recovery.
Because if you're on these things,
you're seeing the videos, this, that,
and the other thing.
And you're saying,
come in for that under the
eyes of a physical therapist.
How'd you guys come up with this?
We went to Asheville, North Carolina,
had a wonderful experience
with a sauna cold plunge,
but it was after a four-day
jiu-jitsu game.
So I honestly didn't think I
was going to be walking on a Monday,
and I was bebopping around just fine.
And I really attribute a lot
of it to the sauna cold plunge,
but also the community building.
And that's what we wanted to
bring was the community
building of doing something difficult,
surrounded by people you had just met,
and working through –
getting into an ice cold tub
and working through three
minutes there with people
coaching you and cheering
you on just like you would a marathon.
People are cheering you on
to be able to do it.
And so it's community
building and recovery.
So talk to me more about the
community building.
Like, what's that like?
Like,
is this a monthly recurring
membership for people?
Is this a one-stop shop
where I'm going to come in,
I'm going to pay sixty
bucks and I'm going to do the sauna,
cold plunge, whatever?
It's both.
So we do one time,
thirty dollar for an hour,
forty for two hours,
as much or as little sauna cold plunge.
But the way we built it,
we have a six person
traditional sauna and two
cold plunge clubs right
next to each other.
So you're actually always
engaging with someone else.
We do the memberships,
if you know you love it,
but the whole space is open
and meant for people to
constantly be interacting.
So, so who's your, who are your avatars?
I don't think you have one ideal customer,
right?
Like there's just,
it might fit under like
someone who's athletic, right?
Like, I don't think my, you know,
my grandmother is very active.
She's ninety eight.
Just by the way, Gammy's out in Oklahoma.
I don't think she's your
ideal person walking through the door.
But are these like, like local,
not just athletes,
but like local sports teams?
Is this like a triathlon
team who like also says we're going to,
we're going to throw down
and we're going to go as a group?
It's really all of the above,
but more importantly,
it's the person who doesn't
have access to the cold plunge and sauna.
So a lot of the teams have
access to cold plunge, not the sauna.
But I'm finding it's more the thirty,
forty,
fifty year old who's still very active,
but the aches and pains are
starting to set in or the
person who wants to explore
something different like
cold plunging or sauna.
And they just don't have the
tools or the understanding
of how to do it safely.
And they want to talk with someone.
They want me there to coach them.
So how do they do this?
Let's say we'll put me and
my triathlon buddies.
There's five of us.
There's six of us total.
Do we book a time?
Like, hey,
we know we're going on a long
ride on Saturday.
Do we then on Sunday morning book an hour,
and then we're going to
come in and then use the
place like it's our rehab facility,
like our –
You can book it or you do drop-in.
So I've had a good amount of
business with drop-in
because especially with
being a parent myself,
you never know when you're
going to get that hour.
And so the drop-in
appointments have been popular.
The booking's nice if you're
doing group appointments
because it's really easy
for people to say, oh,
I'm going to bring two of my friends.
And with our memberships,
it's cheaper to bring a friend.
But most importantly,
we want to be available.
We're open seven days a week
because fitness happens all the time.
Injuries happen all the time.
And so that availability is important.
And there's always myself and my husband.
We call ourselves our guides.
The guides are there to
guide you through how to do
solder cold plunge.
On site.
But long term, you guys can't.
You've got to phase yourself
out of the business.
You've got to teach other
people to do that, right?
I'm guessing.
We're going to hire someone
to become the guide.
And I will matriculate into only PT.
When I walk in.
What's it like?
Let's say me and my five
buddies have it for an hour.
Right.
We were booked like that.
We know there's space.
Right.
Because one person might be
easy to sneak in,
but six of us probably not so much.
What's it look like?
Are you do it?
Is this like white glove?
Like walk in?
Here's a towel.
Here's, you know, lemon water.
Like,
I feel like I'm is it like it like
just what I'm looking at the logo,
the vibe behind you and how
you're describing it.
It feels very much like higher end.
spa than it does like you're
walking in immediately
you're and I can take you
on a tour in a little bit
but wellness recovery
beverages we've got hot
teas that are locally
brewed retail for sauna and
bath recovery aids you come
in you've got the towel the
robes it's a luxurious
experience but it's also an
educational experience so
we wanted to push those two
together the last thing we
want is it to feel clinical
I think that's your smartest move.
I think this is where, again,
I think you're a sucker
punch or a Trojan horse,
which is the front of your
organization looks very
much like the spa and spas
don't sell bath bombs.
They don't sell towels.
They sell an experience.
Like I want to feel in this
hour and then hopefully the
hour or two after that,
this thing that I went through.
if I have this issue or this problem.
So, okay.
So walk in very much like white glove,
like I'm getting an experience.
You mentioned some add-ons.
Are you going to add
something like massage?
Do you offer that now?
We don't offer it now.
We have Norma Tech recovery boots.
So we do the compression massage.
It's a dollar a minute,
but probably not doing the
massage therapy because I
want to go into the manual
therapy of the PT side.
So it's really going to be
If you need those services, here,
come talk to me.
Here are the cash-based packages.
That's cool.
What else haven't I asked?
What else is there that
maybe you haven't gotten to show off yet?
The culture.
We are downtown Lynchburg.
We have a mural by a local artist.
We're ingrained in downtown Lynchburg.
We received a grant through
Launch Lynchburg that
funded us to be in the
downtown on Main Street,
and we are part of the
culture of our downtown
that's beginning to thrive.
So smart.
So talk about that grant,
like even just briefly, like, hey,
you paid attention.
Remember that guy back in
like the eighties and
nineties who would be on TV in the,
in the suit coat,
but it had question marks all over it.
And he would like sell the
book that was like,
there's money out there.
If you know how to apply,
this is like pre-internet, right?
And essentially his whole pitch was like,
there's money there.
So like you were smart
enough to go look like, know about it,
apply for it, apply well and win it.
Yeah,
I'm constantly on the Internet and
websites and looking for
ways like APTA and VPTA,
which is our local Virginia PTA.
There's scholarships that
that are available.
There's money available.
So for the local downtown
Lynchburg Association,
there was an application to
do a Zoom interview,
which quickly led to eight
weeks of business classes,
which led to a Shark Tank style pitch.
We won a thousand dollars for a grant.
So you had to earn it.
Got it.
We earned it, but we also, you know,
it was twenty five very
persistent people out of what,
seventy thousand people that live here.
So it took some persistence
and some learning,
but we knew it was
available because we looked for it.
What was what was the
overview of your pitch?
Bringing recovery and
wellness to Lynchburg, Virginia.
This is a trick question.
We already know the answer.
Do you think if you had
pitched a PT clinic, it would have won?
People don't want more clinical situations,
but I did.
Yeah, exactly.
Right.
But you did,
but you didn't because you
framed it differently, right?
So someone would say, well,
this isn't traditional PT.
And I would say, you're right.
But I would say you're going
to get people who might not
have walked into a clinic,
a traditional clinic,
and you're going to get
eyes on them and you're
going to be able to whisper in their ear,
which supposedly is what we
want to get paid for in the future,
right?
The stuff between our ears
and not necessarily,
not just what we do with
our hands or what we offer people.
Go ahead.
No, no, keep going.
We're doing spinoffs like
sauna and stretch where we
can tailor it to their needs.
You know, it's led by a PT.
So all of this really truly is marketing,
but it's marketing because
I'm doing something I love
that I believe in for the community.
But eventually these people
will come to trust me for
the PT side of things.
I think if you had done this,
even if you had done
everything the same way,
but you did it in a clinical environment,
I don't think it would work.
Because that's not what I expect there.
And Seth Godin's a famous business guy.
You're familiar with Seth Godin.
He writes books about
business that are really, like for me,
that are really short and simple.
So I can feel like I've read
a lot of books.
Super smart guy.
And he said,
he sort of had a riff once
where I like sushi and I like McNuggets.
but I don't expect sushi at McDonald's.
So when you walk into a PT clinic,
you do sort of for better or for worse.
And I think it's changing,
but it's not totally there.
I don't expect the paint I see behind you.
I don't expect a cool, like that logo.
I don't expect to see to your right.
I think was like a relaxed,
chill chair that you have
like the Norma tech boots on.
That's we sort of hide that
and we do we white coat it.
And we sort of hide behind
some of those things.
And I'm not saying don't
break out a stethoscope or
blood pressure cuff.
I'm saying give people an
environment they would like
to relax in because isn't
that step one and getting
someone to open up and move.
Right,
and I think that's the wave of the
future.
When we are enabling and
empowering people to pay
for their own health care
through cash-based and take
the initiative to take care of themselves,
we have to give them an
experience that is customer
service oriented.
And it cannot be something
like they're fearful of
pain or they're fearful of
the presentation.
It's got to be an enjoyable experience.
I also think...
The subtle thing that you're
doing that I noticed anyway
is I feel like a lot of
times when you walk into a clinic,
it's very much something's
going to happen to me, right?
Something's going to happen to me.
Someone,
you are going to do something to
me and that thing will make
me feel better where I
think you're essentially
saying you come in here and
you're going to do stuff.
We're going to do stuff.
I'm going to walk you through stuff.
Then you'll feel better.
It changes it a little bit
from passive to active.
Yes, and I think it's more approachable.
And that's how we have to do
the cold plunging.
The person is choosing to
put themselves in an
uncomfortable situation, but at all times,
they're in control.
You're choosing to get in.
You're choosing when to get out.
And honestly, by framing it that way,
I'm seeing people really
surpass what my recommendations are.
They're going for the three minutes.
They're going for the colder.
They're getting more smiles
and more benefit.
Our Google reviews are off
the chart five star,
and people are wanting to leave reviews,
because honestly, it works,
but they're empowered.
And I think that's why
they're there to leave the
review and to have that good experience.
Where are you in the stage of this?
How long you've been open?
October fourteenth.
We opened the doors.
So we're brand new.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's great.
What surprised you even the
month that you've been open
or not even a month that
you've been open?
What surprised you that you
didn't see coming?
What was the surprise?
how much benefit people are
getting from the sauna cold plunge,
the reactions.
When they walk through the
door when they're done,
the smiles are bigger.
People are reporting they're
sleeping better.
It's neat to watch the research in action.
You know, you expect it to work,
but honestly,
I'm pinching myself because
it's working so well.
That's what surprised me.
Yeah.
What is advice you would
give to someone else who is
either going to open
something similar or just open in general,
like just become a business owner?
Anything you would want to
whisper in your ear six,
eight months ago?
number one is go for it but
you're a strong pt we're
smart and use the tools we
have in a creative way if
you want a creative outlet
you make it create the
world you want to treat in
because it's available to
you so you're making me
think that there's two ways
to go about this well
there's a lot more in two
ways but like there's two
quick ways right you could
open a clinic and then try to make it
like an experience, like you're doing it,
you're doing it the other way.
You're opening the
experience and sort of suckering them in,
suckering them in to a
clinical environment,
like getting them in front of a PT.
I think the other way is harder.
I think if you start a traditional clinic,
it's harder to change that
than it is the direction
that you're going.
Yeah.
I, I want the people off the streets.
I want the tourists.
And so I,
I wouldn't say it's easier,
it's just different.
Yeah.
But to me,
it feels more welcoming in the
sense that it's just more approachable.
It doesn't mean the other way is wrong.
Yeah,
I didn't mean it was... So let me
reframe.
I think...
I think taking a traditional
clinic and being creative
is crazy hard because I
think it's so much in a box
where I think the way you're going,
which is swimming upstream
when everybody else is
swimming downstream,
allows for more latitude and creativity.
I would a hundred percent agree with that.
And people notice you more.
I agree with that.
Yeah, I think when you open a PT clinic,
and this is not rigid,
like you can do it differently,
but people have
expectations and they might
never come inside.
But when I see that logo and
you're saying I'm offering recovery,
that communicates something
different in my mind.
Yeah, I agree with you.
And our logo is Relax and Feel Good.
I mean,
what PT clinic sells t-shirts that
says Relax and Feel Good?
It's great.
It's a paradigm shift, right?
Yeah, whereas I'm trying to think,
what do PT clinics do with T-shirts?
The only consistent thing
I've seen PT clinics do
with T-shirts is give them
upon graduation, right?
Which is such a weird thing.
When would you graduate from relaxing?
You would never graduate
from relax and recovery.
Right.
This is a lifetime.
This is part of a habit.
That's why we sell memberships.
It's a habit of taking care of yourself.
What's the rough square footage?
How much did you need?
Fifteen hundred.
And it's honestly now we're
finding it's a little small.
We could have had more,
but there's ways to expand.
But I don't want it to be.
Yeah.
Go small and need to go big
rather than go big and then
panic and then need to back down.
What's what's success look
like for you a year from now,
which would be your first year,
three years from now,
because that's the mark.
If your business can last three years,
you got like, you know, a chance.
And then maybe five years from now,
what's one, three and five look like?
Like shoot for the stars, man.
Yeah, year one,
we've hired at least one to two people,
man in the front.
I'm doing all PT.
Year two, we've expanded.
I'm still doing all PT,
but I've expanded to the
next door location,
which is another fifteen
hundred square foot space.
Year three,
we are hopefully bringing in
sensory deprivation, float,
some mindset coaching,
more on the mindfulness part.
And when do you have another location?
Is that in the forecast?
Not right now.
I just want to expand right here.
I want to knock it out of
the park right here.
Cool.
What didn't I ask that you
wish other PTs would know
about what you're doing?
Oh,
something that I think is really
important.
As a PT,
sometimes we only collaborate with
people in the medical field.
We are part of our communities.
We are part of the business community.
We are part of the local community.
So no matter where we are,
be ingrained in that
community because that's
who supported me through
this whole thing.
I have flowers you can't see
here from a patient of mine.
I have people coming in to say, hey,
what about this?
Have you thought about this
from the yoga community?
Collaboration with all
people who promote wellness
and success in the
community is vital to your success.
I love that.
Last thing we do on episodes,
we call it the parting shot.
What's an idea, mic drop moment,
soapbox statement?
What would you want to leave
with the audience?
You're capable of doing
whatever's in your dreams,
but you got to do it.
So go after it.
Don't wait.
Fortune favors the bold.
One of my favorite lines.
Sam at Frostfire in Lynchburg,
appreciate you coming on
the show in one of our
first couple of PT Business
Blueprint episodes.
Thank you so much.
It was a pleasure.